Far From A Fairytale
by LilyGinnyBlack
Summary: Life can be such a fickle thing, to think, that the greatest journey...Can begin with a childish bedtime story, also known as, a fairytale. What happens when Albel chances upon Sophia telling Peppita a bedtime story? AlbelSophia Alphia
1. Foolish Tales

_**Far From A Fairytale**_

_**By: **LilyGinnyBlack_

_**Prologue: Foolish Tales**_

_**Disclaimer: None of the characters, settings, or etc belong to me; they all belong to Square Enix and Tri-Ace.**_

_A/N: Hello, everyone! This is my first attempt at a SO3 fanfic, so sorry if it isn't all that good, or if the characters are OOC. Though, I did take some of their personalities from the manga, rather than the game, since the manga elaborates more in that department. And the time setting is just before they head out for the Firewall. Oh, and this is an Alphia fic, I've become entranced by this couple now, though, I have nothing against Alnel. I even like quite a few Alnel fan fics. Anyway, enough with this really long author's note please enjoy the fic. : )_

(-)-(-)

Silence, the night was voided of all sound, and sleep was starting to befall upon everyone…or almost everyone. The exception being three people: Peppita, Spohia, and Albel; one not wanting to sleep out of pure stubbornness, the other trying to calm the young and bubbly girl into rest, and the last one not wanting to visit old, painful memories in his dreams. Thus, the latter of the three stopped his walking of the darkened halls when he heard two voices behind the closed door next to him.

"Come on now, Peppita, you need to get some sleep! We're leaving bright and early tomorrow, you don't want to slow us down, now do you?" It was the voice of that foolish girl, Sophia. The only one Albel was finding himself opening up to along this journey, even if, it is only slightly. Why? Albel knew the reason, but he let his pride govern over his words, not his heart. Never was Albel the Wicked going to let his frozen heart melt, and never would he wear his heart upon his sleeve.

"I won't go to bed unless you tell me a story." Albel's ears could easily hear Peppita's energetic voice through the door. She was the only other member, besides the older girl, of this mismatched group whom didn't bother him as much as the others. It was a surprising fact that was, even to himself, shocking. His mind still was unable to grasp the fact that he was finding himself attracted to the two most opposite people in this little group, one-as a little sister, the other-something he knew, but was not willing to admit.

"Oh, fine. I'll tell you a bed time story, even though you are too old for them." Albel heard a sigh escape from Sophia's lips as the words found their way to his ears. His blood-red eyes sharpened with interest. His mind shifted through what tales she would tell, though, he didn't doubt that it would be a tale unknown to his mind.

So, Albel let his weary body lean against the wall, as he listened to a tale of true love-of princes and princesses, of magic and evil, of good vs. evil, and of 'Once Upon A Time's' and 'Happily Ever After's'. Albel wondered who created such rubbish, a fool-no doubt-, who was incapable of dealing with the harsh world of reality. That was the only answer, for, who else would weave such a story full of dreams. Life could never be so innocent. Yet, he still let the soothing voice of Sophia wash over his closed eyelids, each word like a lullaby, forcing sleep onto his tired body.

What little that was now being spoken behind the closed door, Albel still comprehended, even in his state of just in between being awake and falling asleep. "Do you have a prince or knight in shinning armor, Sophia?" Peppita slurred as slumber laid strongly over her.

Sophia didn't reply right away. She stayed quiet until Peppita had fallen off to sleep and then, "I used to have a knight in shinning armor, I used to have a prince, but then…he changed…and so did I. I want to be a princess and I want a knight to protect me, but not overprotect me, because…Life just isn't like that. I've learned that now."

A smirk slipped onto Albel's thin face and his eyes opened up to the dim night that surrounded him. She was a maggot, for anyone other than himself was, but now he knew that she wasn't a fool. He walked off down the hallway and to his room, he was prepared for tomorrow, and his past would not haunt him tonight.

Meanwhile, Sophia smiled sadly, her eyes holding a soft glow as she looked down upon the sleeping girl. "I had known that you were there, right outside the door, Albel. I also know that you aren't standing there anymore…But, I wonder, how much of that fairytale…did you **actually** hear?"

(-)-(-)

_A/N: I know that this chapter is really short, but first chapters usually are, and this is a prologue, as well. I'll try to update as much and as quickly as I can, but I'm also writing a Furuba fic (Kyo/Tohru), though, I'm almost done with it. Please tell me what you think of this chapter in a review! Ja ne. :D_

-Lily-


	2. Only You Can Heal

_**Chapter One: Only You Can Heal**_

_A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks to any readers and reviewers out there. Not much can be said about this chapter, except that this story will, most likely, end up going somewhere none of you can predict. :P I hope that you find this chapter as good as the last!_

(-)-(-)

Sunlight poured into the room, which awoke Albel, whose head pounded slightly due to lack of sleep. Yet, he was use to being sleep deprived, ever since he started, with those nightmares. He pushed his slim body away from the warm bed and made his way to get up. Once up he dressed, thus, he no longer had that disheveled look about him. His normal attire was placed upon his body as he walked out of the door and into the lively hallway of the inn they had stayed at the night before.

He walked into the lobby of the inn, at which, he found only Sophia and Peppita up, the rest of his companions still slept. The two females happened to be in the small kitchen area of the inn, he watched silently from the opening, which led into the room, neither one took notice of him, at first. They just continued on with their conversation, "Peppita, you have to eat something for breakfast, or else you'll be too weak to fight!"

"Oh, but I don't want to! It's too early to eat anything; my tummy can't handle food at this time in the morning." Peppita whined to Sophia, the latter of which just sighed. All the while Albel smirked. Even though the two _did_ annoy him, their antics always got to him, and plus, they annoyed him the least out of the bunch. "Hey Albel, you tell Sophia that I don't need to eat anything, after all, you almost _always_ side with me on stuff like this!"

He was shocked, though he shouldn't have been; he had learned a long time ago that the little brat was stronger and more intelligent than at first glance, that and her stubborn attitude made him like her more than some of the others too. She must have easily spotted his presence. Yet, what was he to say, he wasn't the little brat's mother, so he couldn't force her to do anything, yet…Ever since she joined them on Moonbase, Sophia had instantly blended into the "mother" role for the younger female, thus, Peppita should listen to the older girl.

Though he thought about the scene in front of him, his response showed no such signs, "Bah, as if I care about such petty things, you little brat."

At that, Peppita's eyes scrunched up and her face, which was still filled with life, puffed out in anger, "You big meanie! You were suppose to take my side! Oh, why do you have to be **so** stubborn?"

Albel's eyes lit up in amusement and he let out a small chuckle, "The same can be said for you, _Peppita-chan_." He had said her name with a large amount of sarcasm, which had only caused her to get angrier.

"I don't like how you said that!" Her finger pointed at him as the fabric of her outfit flowed around her and the blonde colored hair, which she had up in pigtails, bounced slightly at the sudden movement.

All the while, Albel's eyes widened as he feigned innocence, "Don't like how I said what?"

"You do too know _what_!" It sounded as if Peppita wanted to talk some more, but the two of them were interrupted by the sound of Sophia's laughter.

Albel felt his eyes sharpen in anger as he glared viciously at Sophia, "You, girl, what are you laughing at?"

Sophia automatically stopped her laughter, yet the enjoyment had yet to leave her face, "It's just that, you two had just acted like an older brother and a younger sister, ya know, with the way you fought and all."

"No I don't know, and by the way, you act like the little brat's mother." Albel's voice had been crisp and cool as he said each word.

Surprise had made its way onto Sophia's face. "Really? In that case, Peppita, you have to eat some breakfast. I have some yummy cereal with marshmallows in it that I took from the Diplo."

"You brought cereal with marshmallows? Yippy!" the young girl let out a giggle as she took a place back at the table, for she had gotten up at some point in the argument with Albel, her face was a grin.

In a matter of minutes the room was silent as Peppita gobbled down her bowl of, more or less, sugar. All Albel managed to do was think as he nabbed an apple, which had lain in a bowl at the center of the table. At the moment, his thoughts found themselves focused on the young girl, who eagerly scooped spoonful after spoonful of man-made glucose into her system. How was it that she could be so positive about the world?

How was it that they could _both_ be so positive? It was such a small thing, yet it eluded his mind. Was it what drew him to the two females? No, he knew the answer to that. The only reason the three were anywhere near each other was because of the simple fact that they were alienated from the rest of those maggots.

He alienated himself through his hard gestures and harsh words, the girl through her natural passive personality that only sparked when extremely provoked, and the little brat was the only child of the bunch, thus, she was left out of most things. An act that Albel wholly disagreed with, which was the most logical reason for why the young girl had thought he would side with her just moments before.

The child finished up her breakfast, and so, Albel had let himself be a spectator. He watched as the older female told the younger to wash up and get dressed into a cleaner outfit than the one she had on her body at the time. An argument was not met by these demands, the most likely conclusion being that the fourteen-year-old, now knew, that Albel would not be on her side. Thus, she just sighed, like a child who had lost a fight with her parents, and headed up the stairs to the bathroom.

It was the two of them now. Sophia began to clean up the table for, like most energetic children, Peppita had made a mess. Albel had then gotten up, his purpose was to throw away the eaten away apple, yet, he found a wash cloth thrown at him instead. "You clean up." The order had been given to him by Sophia, no harshness behind any of the words, but at the same time, no tone to suggest a tease.

He just looked bewildered; his eyes never left the wash cloth that was thrown at him by her. "I do all the cleaning around here and I'm tired of always being the one to make sure we don't leave too much of a mess wherever we go. Oh, and I always do the cooking too, so, I want to take a break today."

She turned to leave the kitchen; the sound of Peppita as she played in the bath could be heard clearly by the two. Albel clutched the rag tightly in his good hand; his eyes held only a hint of confusion, though mostly annoyance. "Why?" His voice wasn't cold like it usually was, just soft.

The question stopped Sophia in her tracks, large and doe shaped green eyes, covered only just by light chocolate colored hair looked at the side of Albel's face and body, "Why what?

"Why do you take care of that little brat as if she were your own child?" His crimson eyes slide to the side so he would be able to see the girl's reaction out of the side of his blood colored orbs. Her face was etched with a smile. It seemed as if she were able to read what Albel had _truly_ meant behind the words and said.

"Because, I noticed that only I can heal you, in battle." That had been all she had said.

"Bah." Was the verbal response given as the swordsman took the wash cloth and placed it upon the table. Not another word had been spoken between the two as Sophia moved away from the entry way of the kitchen and toward the counter, where she began to make breakfast for the rest of their companions.

As Albel began to clean the table, not completely alert on the job, he let his mind wander. For, he thought more than he talked, this time he thought of the "conversation"-if such a short verbal encounter could be called that-and how it was the first time that one of their "conversations" had been about him.

In the times past, any talk between the two had always been about her. They would sit alone together, away from the others, and sometimes accompanied by Peppita, for, she seemed attached to Sophia. Those two would be the ones to talk, and he would listen, sometimes he added a typical blunt or rude comment, but, for the most part, would be quiet. He could not verbalize his emotions like the two females were able to, and it had been, at some point, through the times that they had met that his emotions for her had been created. The emotions had been created and he had become aware of them and he had tried to speak of them, yet, every time she had been dragged away by that blue haired maggot.

"_Because, I noticed that only I can heal you, in battle." _The words consumed Albel's mind. So, she had understood the hidden message in the question he had asked her. He had asked her, not why she took care of the brat, but why she took care of the things she did, namely, him. The answer had been one that he had not expected and made him wonder if she already knew of what he felt for her, yet, he highly doubted such a thing.

Annoyed at the circle like motion his thoughts had seemed to take, Albel through the wash cloth down in frustration, a small growl slipped from his lips as he walked out of the room, at which point, he threw away the apple core,and stomped up the stairs, after only seconds of no noise, the sound of his door as it was slammed shut was heard.

Sophia sighed, "Well, at least he cleaned up the table." She began to hum and a sad smile crept onto her features.

Then Peppita happily skipped down the stairway and into the kitchen and titled her head, as she asked, "What's got Mr. Meanie all upset?"

In a voice that could only be described as absentminded Sophia just replied with, "I don't know." Though, it was a lie.

"Oh! You do too know! I know you do! What is it with adults and keeping secrets?"

"Because, adults are more afraid of things than children are, and most of the time, the truth is much scarier than some lie." That was the last sentence Sophia was able to get out, for, the rest had woken up and were now seated around the table. A fake smile was plastered on her face as she placed the food she had just made onto the table and took a seat next to Fayt.

Sophia found her eyes trail over to the empty seat, at every inn they left a seat empty, just incase Albel decided to join them, though, he never did. "Are you okay?" The question, which had been asked by Fayt, drew her out of her train of thought.

"Yes, I'm fine." a statement that was called a lie.

Her eyes found their way to the empty seat once again before they moved in a downcast like fashion. Sad green eyes focused on the food that sat upon her plate, yet, they did not comprehend the image, instead, she saw the flashes of the multiple timesAlbel had tried to tell her what he felt.

"_If only I were stronger…If only I didn't let the others use me so much, then…Then I wouldn't have let myself be dragged away from you…" _

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, there you have it, chapter one! I hope that none of the characters were OOC and I hope you like the way I view the Albel/Sophia relationship. Oh, and though it may not seem it, this story will get rather anguish-filled, most of my works end up that way for some reason. -.- Anyway, please tell me what you think in a review. Thanks. : )_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	3. Soliloquy to Self Hate

**_Chapter Two: Soliloquy to Self Hate_**

_A/N: Hello there everyone! You know, I should be writing the next chapter of my Furuba story 'Every Single One', instead of this story, or writing that one-shot about Valentine's Day for Furuba that's been haunting my mind…Instead, I update this. :Sigh: There isn't much that can be done about it though. :P I swear, Star Ocean **alone**__is addicting, but then add in Alphia and it becomes like an obsession or something. -.- Oh, well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. : )_

(-)-(-)

Muffled sounds were what Albel heard from the room below, the place where frustration had blossomed. His ears heard laughter, though, not hers…He knew that they always left a chair empty for him, when they ate, yet, he found no use in eating with them. He didn't like to do much with them at all, he was always alone…or, at least, he use to be. Now, he wasn't so sure.

The girl was persistent and seemed to haunt his thoughts. Always with the right words and actions, even still, he reacted to such right things, in more than many, wrong ways. The fact of the matter was that he just _didn't know_ how to interact with people and never wanted to. To be left to his devices was what he wished for and to die alone in his own frozen soul was something his mind had been long ago set upon. Yet, the very _foundation_ of such thoughts and choices were now being questioned due to a person so very like himself, but with an outlook on life that could only be described as opposite.

He felt his claw lash out, the pillow, which had once lain upon the bed, was now just strips of ripped fabric. The pieces of fabric lazily swept pass his blood red irises. So simplistic, each strand that had fallen…A burst of anger had caused such destruction, just like it constantly did, but why? No answers could correctly be mused over or concluded to, for the murmurs from below died away, only to be replaced by the sound of footsteps-the sound moved closer.

A knock on the door snapped Albel away from the dazed look that had graced his face and the far away thoughts. He gave no answer. That did not stop the person outside, instead, they had opened his door, and he found the face of _that_ girl, her overly large eyes stared into his own slit ones. A clash of deep red to light green-complete opposites-both in depth and the colors themselves, yet, they also happened to be complimentary colors. Two colors meant to look right next to each other.

Her eyes were transfixed upon him, the anger inside himself seeped out of his soul, and his eyes reflected that bitter hatred that dwelled like a dormant bear, ready to strike at any given moment. Naïvely, she just stood there, like effortless prey for the beast known as Albel 'The Wicked'. How and why she stood there so fearlessly was an utter mystery to him, yet, he didn't want to know the answers to mysteries. He was considered a mystery and an enigma by the others, but he thought that _she_ was the enigma. With the way she hid her true thoughts and emotions behind smiles. The wonder of what truly went on in her head was one of the things that kept him addicted to her presence over the journey.

Her presence was the trouble and his so-called-addiction was one as well. Such emotions and views were not of Albel and he wanted to rid his body and mind of them. Now he just needed to start the conflict, which would lead to the climax, and end in his desired resolution-to be alone; to forever be alone and cold in the world. That way, he could not get hurt, nor would _anyone_ else get hurt…Because of him and his weakness…Never again...

"What do you want, girl?" The words were like icicles that pierced the air, which surrounded both of them. His eyes shined with such intensity, one, which he found, was reflected in the girl's eyes as well. But, with his question, the intensity found in her eyes was smashed.

"O-oh, um, Fayt told me to come up here and tell you that we are going to leave in a few minutes and that you should get ready to go…That is, if you aren't already." She fumbled only slightly over her soft spoken words and her eyes had broken their gaze on his. Unable to stand the tension that swam deep within each pigment of deep crimson. Her words were spoken and she moved in a way that suggested that she wished to take leave of his presence.

Yet, Albel wasn't finished with _her_ presence, thus, he shot out his arm, his thin fingers on his good hand reached out to grasp the pink and purple fabric of the back of her coat-for she had been on her way out. The rough fingers snatched a small amount of the bunched up fabric and held her in place. Albel felt no need for her to see his face or for him to see hers, thus, he asked her a question, with her back in front of his eyes, rather than her front. "Do you hate me?"

He had asked the question only twice before, once to the blue haired maggot, Fayt…and the other time to himself. Two very different answers were received, Fayt had told him-not really-yet, he had told _himself_ that he hated everything that lurked in his own soul. So, what answer would he get from the girl, would he get a lie or would he get the truth? Nevertheless, the true question, was of what did he _want_ to hear-fact or fiction?

Albel felt her stiffen under his fingers as the words left his mouth and found a place in her mind. "Wha…?" She had no idea what to say, and Albel knew this, he could see it in the way she held herself and he could feel it. The whole situation made him smirk in such a heartless way, though she was unable to see it. The awkward silence that had found its way between the two was broken by the voice of Maria, who told them that they had to get downstairs because they were ready to leave.

Albel watched as she took off down the stairs, he knew that confusion was what fueled her speed. He just lazily followed behind, each time his metal bottomed boots hit the ground, the air seemed to vibrate in fear. He had done it; he had caused the desired affect, now he just had to wait for her answer. An evil smirk played its way across his thin and sharp features.

(-)-(-)

Heat from the sun, which glared down upon them, only added to Sophia's distortion. Her mind was a mess, not sure what to think of Albel Nox. His question acted like the plague, it consumed any and all other thoughts that swam through her mind. Her feet moved, yet had no destination, her eyes saw, but they were incapable of focus. It had made her crazed and she had no idea how to handle such an emotion.

The foreign emotion had proved itself a burden, for, she had almost walked straight into a tree, that was, if it hadn't been for Albel and his words of, "Watch out, wench!" Such words, while they had awakened her from the glazed over state she had been in-only accomplished more aggravation on her part.

Thus, Sophia took the pent up aggravation, and used it to express the obsessive emotion that had overcome her. "What did you call me?" Her face flushed with anger, for the word degraded her, at least, in her eyes.

"I called you a wench, wench." The nonchalant way, in which, he had replied to her-only succeeded-in fumed anger on her part.

"I don't like how you said _that_ word, either." The childish voice of Peppita was then acknowledged by the two and had drawn the attention of the rest of the travelers.

"What do you mean by that, brat?" Albel taunted the child.

"I meant just what I said, I don't like what you called Sophia, you said it in that same tone that you used when you called me Peppita-_chan_. You're just a big and rude meanie who needs to take a happy pill."

"You need to learn when to shut up, you little brat." Albel jeered back, his eyes narrowed as his white teeth shown clearly through his wide and slightly evil smirk.

"Well, you need to learn how to deal with other people's emotions." Here Peppita stuck out her tongue at him and, with her pointer finger, lowered some of the skin beneath her eye.

"That's it…" Albel's words died on his lips as he made a violent motion toward the girl. Sophia just watched, with dilated pupils at the scene displayed before her eyes, and just as Cliff rushed in between the two, felt herself scream, "Stop it! Albel, stop it, don't touch her!" Her eyes squeezed shut due to the strength of her voice.

"Alright, that's it, you three! Calm down." Cliff's deep voice echoed through their heads and everyone fell silent. In the silence, the moments inched by like torture, until Nel decided to head off. The other's soon followed her, that is, except Albel and Sophia.

They lagged behind, one out of habit of separation from groups, and the other one because of deep thought. After that whole fiasco Sophia could only wonder why he looked after her in such a way. He was a loner and his words were always so straightforward, yet his actions always seemed to contradict him, and the fact that he watched over her was a prime example. She felt her eyes glide swiftly to the side…she only caught a glimpse of him in her range of sight, but that had been all that was needed.

(-)-(-)

Night draped around their surroundings as they made camp in the Mosel Desert. A fire burned fiercely and warmed the skin of those whom surrounded it: Nel, Cliff, Fayt, Maria, and Mirage. For, Adray-in his old age-found sleep at such a late hour, Sophia-with her mind a mess-hoped for sleep (though none came to her), Peppita-the youngest-found sleep at the particular hour of night very much like Adray did, and Albel-the anti-social one of the bunch-was on guard and away from any source of light or warmth.

It was Nel who noticed the look of concentration that was plastered on Fayt's face. "What's on your mind? You seem concerned over something important." The light of the fire only highlighted the red of Nel's short hair and deep green eyes.

"While I do have something on my mind, I wouldn't call it important, and I wouldn't say that I'm concerned…I think I'm more curious than anything else." He looked at Nel through the flames of the fire.

But, Nel did not reply, instead, Maria did. "I see. So, what has gained your interest so much?"

A small, yet deep, cough from Cliff's direction was heard, "I have a pretty good idea of what might be on the kid's mind."

"Oh really," came the intrigued voice of Mirage, "and what might that be?"

"Just call it hunch, but…The interaction between Albel, Sophia, and Peppita-right." He didn't voice the sentence as a question, but as a statement, for, Cliff's hunches were always right…At least they were 99.9 of the time.

No verbal answer was given, just a nod of the head from Fayt, eyes spaced out as they watched the fire dwindle ever downward.

"Well, I understand where you are coming from. Those three seemed to have formed some kind of a "relationship", however odd of a "relationship" it may be it is still there. No avoiding that." Cliff nodded his head in agreement with Maria.

"Yeah, I mean, did ya see the way Peppita and Mr. Anti-Social where acting toward each other? It gave off the impression of an older brother/younger sister type of a fight…and it seemed like they were finishing off from a fight that happened between them early today." Cliff poked at the, now, almost dead ambers of the, once, lively fire, with a stick; the darkened ambers shifted with each swish of his wrist.

"Yeah, but _why_ would Albel even associate himself with Peppita and Sophia, I mean, I thought for certain that Albel would stay the farthest away from those two." Fayt voice was filled with curiosity and puzzlement.

It was then that Nel decided to add a comment into the conversation at hand, "Well, like it's said, opposites attract. Sophia and Peppita consequently happen to be Albel's complete and utter opposites. Sophia is in tune with her emotions, Albel locks them away, Peppita is loud most of the time, Albel is quiet most of the time-opposite."

The night had only seemed to have darkened around them further. "There's no point in discussing this so late at night when are minds are tired from the days events. I think it's about time that we all head off to bed. Come on." With that Mirage got up and headed towards the girls' tent, the rest followed to their respective tents, to get some sleep.

(-)-(-)

Albel had been not that far away from the fire, though hidden to the bunch as they talked about him. So, they had finally noticed the union that had somehow formed between him, the brat, and the girl-it had taken them long enough. Though, it wasn't as if they had paid enough attention to the three before to have taken note of the interactions.

As they got up and headed to the tents to sleep, he caught sight of pink across the way, so the girl had heard the whole thing as well. It hadn't surprised him that she hadn't gotten any sleep, for some reason, she put the weight of everyone's emotions onto her own heart. She worried unnecessarily over even the littlest things and he could never understand why, so she must have sensed Fayt's unease, which had stopped her from well needed sleep.

Slowly he got up from where he had listened in on the conversation and made his way over to the girl. She still hadn't answered his question, "Do you hate me?" He had asked it to her, once again, when he was close enough for her to have heard it.

"Oh! Did you hear that conversation between Fayt and the others? Why did Fayt seem so concerned? It's not like you'll do anything to me or Peppita, after all, we are all comrades here." A look of slight confusion and irritation was on her face.

A low and dark chuckle came from Albel. The girl was completely clueless, did she not know that he was put down in legend as Albel 'The Wicked'. "What makes you think that no harm will come to you through me? By the way, you still haven't answered my question on whether you hate me or not, it will do you no good to try and stall."

Her eyes widened and her legs bent backwards, as if, she was ready to flee from the site. She then pretended to be tired and a pitiful fake yawn slipped from her lips. "Well, it's really late and I'm really tired, I think I'll head to bed now."

"Not so fast there, girl," Albel's clawed arm stretched out and gripped her arm, "I want to hear some answers before you leave." His clawed fingers dug into her flesh, which caused tears in her eyes and a gasp of pain. Small trickles of blood ran down her skin.

"Ow, Albel…you're…" Here Albel finished off her sentence, "I'm hurting you." A dangerous glint shone in his eyes. The tears on her face threatened to fall, but never did, instead, she reached out (with her other arm) and touched Albel's clawed one. "How did this happen to you?" She didn't look him in the eye when she asked it.

His sharpened fingers released her fragile arm, "That's none of your business. GO! Get your _precious_ sleep, wench."

Neither one got any sleep that night.

(-)-(-)

The days passed them by slowly, and quite suddenly, they had gone and defeated Luther. The weight of, not the world, but the whole universe, was finally off their shoulders. The sigh of relief was felt by all of them, even the coldest of the bunch. So, in order to celebrate the success, they all went to watch Peppita's first ever performance.

An atmosphere of happiness and calmness surrounded them as laughter filled the air. But such contentment was soon to be smashed.

It was when the goodbyes were being given for, you see, the Moonbase was still under a lot of work, things had to be checked and double checked, that Peppita decided to have her first performance in Peterny. Thus, that was where the departures were held.

Sophia had only to say good bye to Albel and then she would be gone. Off to Roak. As she approached him, she felt a lump form in her throat and a sense of dread build up in the pit of her stomach.

"So…I've come to say good bye. I wish you luck in whatever you plan to do Albel, and I'm sure we will see each other again. Yep, in a year we will see each other at the reunion, I'm positive of it." Her normal smile was in place.

Yet, Albel showed no sign of her words. "Bah. Such fake happiness sickens me. And you have yet to give me an answer, do you hate me? This time I won't let you escape my grasp without a valid response."

Sophia sighed, "No, I don't hate you at all, Albel. I see you as a really good friend, a friend that I don't know all that well yet, but I want to get to know you better, with time." She looked him in the eye as she said what she felt.

Albel let out a short and hard laugh, "You lie. I see it in your eyes. They are laced with fear of me. How could they not, I left a scar upon your body with my claw. That friendship that you let your mind believe that we have is nothing more than a figment of your imagination! Stop fooling yourself and face the truth, you hate me and I hate you. There was nothing there and there never will be. Goodbye and good riddance."

All control left Sophia as her lively green eyes turned blank and dark. It was all over, whatever she had thought they had, that friendship…It was all over. The tears swayed over the bottom of her eyes and, with a blink, large tears trailed down her semi-paled cheeks. Her fingers ran themselves along the claw marks on her arm and she felt her legs move without her consent.

She ran. Got as far away from Albel as she could, she hadn't even looked at him to see what his eyes told, of the truth. She hadn't noticed that her little stuffed cat, which always hung from her staff, had fallen off it…Hadn't noticed how Albel had bent down and picked it up. Hadn't noticed the sadness that lurked in the bloody depths of his eyes, for, she was unable to see how his heart bled. Bled with the pain of loneliness that he felt he had to bear in order to atone for his own father's death. She hadn't realized that he was frightened by her kindness and that was what made him push her away…Or that his heart now bled blood that was much thicker and darker; for she had meant something to him…What she had meant to him was unknown.

But, all of these things were clouded due to the overflow of tears that blinded everything around her. The tears that slipped from her wounded soul and glistened in the ironic sunlight. No, it wasn't until she had transported away and saw Elicoor II start to fade away, until the tears had stopped, that she had understood…

Understood that Albel hadn't _truly_ meant a word he had said. And, it was in that moment, that she knew why Albel asked her if she hated him, to see if he had to push her away with such force to protect his own fragile heart and soul, yet, by then, it was too late to turn back.

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, that is the end of chapter two; I hope you all enjoyed it. :D I think this is my favorite chapter out of the three so far, though, the prologue is close. Oh, and I know that Peppita isn't the only kid in the group, but, I never really interacted that much with Roger in the game, and feel that my story will go better if I just eliminate him…Also, his presence in stories always lead to humor (more or less) and I'd rather keep my story serious and angst-filled, with only a few light and humorous moments. See ya next chapter. xD_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	4. One Year

**_Chapter Three: 3.1556926x1010 Milliseconds-31,556,926 Seconds-525,948.766 Minutes-8,765.81277 Hours-365 Days-12 Months 1 Year_**

_A/N: Hello everyone::Looks up at the title: I know, it has a _lot_ of numbers in it, but I wanted to try something a little different, and make it seem like Albel and Sophia have been away from each other for more than just one year. Anyway, I don't have that much to say, so…Enjoy the chapter. :D_

(-)-(-)

_Concentrate, build up the spell, and release the spell. Concentrate, build up the spell, and release the spell. Move left, move right, strike quickly with the staff. _Such thoughts as those filtered through Sophia's head as she moved her body, so filled with grace, across the green interior of the game simulator. It was such thoughts that lead to the defeat of monster after monster. And, even though, said monsters were "not real"-death now surrounded Sophia-and she didn't know if she should embrace such a thing or despise it.

Her long hair, which was now to the very small of her back, swung around her at every move she made. Her body stopped its movement in the center of the room, sweat seemed to have formed on her slightly pale skin and her cheeks were painted a light red (due to the physical exertion). She waited for the new round of creatures to appear, but such a thing never came. At that point confusion had taken over her mind. _Where are they?_

"Thank you for your time. I hope you have enjoyed yourself, you may now exit the gaming system." The electric voice of the game simulator met Sophia's ears and only enhanced her weary state of mind.

"What are you talking about? I didn't die! I didn't hit any button to say that I was done! What's going on?" Her voice was loud and panicked.

"You're right, Sophia. You didn't do all that, but I did." She felt her body twist around and see the blue hair and green eyes of Fayt. His eyes held concern and his hand was held out for her to grasp.

Sophia's small frame shook in anger and her eyes became a blazed. "Why! Why did you do that Fayt? I didn't ask you to do that! How could you?" Her anger came out of her body as she banged her fists against his chest, though, not hard enough to do any physical damage.

"Stop it! Sophia, this isn't like you at all." His voice was calm, yet the unasked question of, _"What has gotten into you?"_ was easily identifiable. Effortlessly Fayt grabbed the fists that were flung at him. "Calm down, Sophia, and tell me what's wrong with you. Why have you been acting like this? You've been in here more than I have, and I thought I was suppose to be the one addicted to video games." By the end, Fayt's voice sounded tired, and his body was strained from the force, with which, he held onto Sophia.

"Let me go! Let me go, Fayt, I have to continue playing this game! I have to get…" Her voice started off strong, but soon died away into a fit of tears, as her body crumbled down to the ground. Her brown hair swept past her face and hid any emotions. The soft sound of sobs could be heard and the nearly silent sound of large tears as they hit the green floor.

Fayt bent down next to her, "What do you have to get Sophia?" His voice was quiet and sympathetic.

Her body lunged forward and she wrapped her arms around Fayt, she needed to grasp some form in her arms, it did not matter who or what it was, just as long as it was a thing she could hold. "I have to get stronger!" The blue-tinted tears glided down her fragile flesh, and with each new bout, the more red the sensitive skin around her eyes became, and the more salt she tasted upon her tongue. The water flowed from her eyes until her throat was sore.

"Why do you have to get stronger? Sophia, we don't have to fight anymore, we did our part in history…we don't have to do anything." Sorrow claimed his face as he looked down at the, seemingly, broken girl.

She just looked up at him, green eyes dull and blank, lips parted slightly. "I have to get stronger…for him."

At first Fayt had no idea who _he_ was, that was, until he thought about it, and came to the conclusion that the person Sophia wanted to get stronger for was…Albel. At such a muse made its way into his mind, Fayt felt jealousy surge through him, just like he had felt all those months ago, in that desert…Next to that fire…The fire, which burned with such a passion, such an untouchable desire. _Why did Albel have to get close to her like that? Why didn't he just stay away like he was meant to? Why…Why did he have to go and make such a lively girl look so dead?_ The last question formed in his brain as he looked down at the despaired girl below. _Why Albel?_

Yet, while such emotions of hate and jealousy brewed deep within Fayt, Sophia only longed to see _him_ again. She wanted to prove to him that she was worth whatever pain she seemed to have caused Albel. That she wouldn't be pushed away again. _Albel, she had to get stronger for Albel._

"You don't have to do anything thing for anyone besides yourself, Sophia." Fayt's words were harsh and his eyes seemed almost cold, but Sophia knew that the only thing that kept them that way, were uncontrolled and unacknowledged emotions.

Thus, Sophia shook her head, and her fog filled mind, now cleared, helped her get herself back together. With that, she stood up and wiped away any stray tears and flattened out the front of the skirt she wore. "I'm sorry, Fayt, I didn't mean to get like that with you. I've just had a lot of things on my mind lately and, well, you can just forget everything that I've said here." She put on one of her fake smiles, though; Fayt could not tell and reached out for his hand. "Thanks for putting up with me like that; you're such a great friend, Fayt."

As they headed out of the dark room of the game system and into the light of the video arcade that was in their hometown, Fayt began to blabber on about some such thing or another, yet Sophia did not fully listen to a word he spoke. Instead, the pretend smile that had graced her lips faltered, and her eyelids slid down, as if a heavy emotion lain upon them. She trailed, only just, behind Fayt and as she looked at his back and his short blue hair-a grief ridden smile controlled her facial muscles. _She would get stronger for Albel, for herself. She would prove her strength to Albel. She would prove her **worth** to Albel. She wanted to see him…Tomorrow; she would see him tomorrow, at the reunion._

The thoughts in her mind soothed her heart, which ached, and a true smile came upon her face. "Oh, that's right; I wanted to show you this really old 21st century video game I found Sophia!"

A giggle left her pink lips, "Okay, okay, what's so great about this thing anyway?"

He turned around and faced her, "What's so great about it? Are you kidding me, Sophia, this is the very **last** 21st century game left!" Fayt ended his sentence in such excitement that he sounded like a child who had just received a whole bag filled with sugar induced candy.

Sophia just laughed.

(-)-(-)

Silence, it had been one of the few things he had lived for, at least, a year or more ago it had been. At the moment, though, he wasn't so sure. Over the year since he had made battle with "God" and won, he had much to think about and much to regret. Yet, such a thing was unknown to anyone besides himself.

The icy cold air that blew throughout Airyglyph and seeped in through the penetrable walls of the castle; such chills as those no longer fazed him, and, for the longest time, he had felt as if he deserved the ice breeze. As if he needed to feel so numb and frozen. That year changed it all.

His human hand smoothly and slowly moved to his katana, the place was were he kept that stuffed cat, so secretly. No one was to know. Yet, such a small and idiotic item gave him strength in battle and made the wait less painful. A whole year, and yet, not a single thing of his appearance had changed. He wondered if any of the other maggots had changed or if any of them became more moronic.

His unasked question was given an answer sooner than he had expected, a day sooner. "ALBEL! Heyyy, Albel, it's good to see you, you big meanie!" The hyper yell came from somewhere off to his left. And out of the corner of his blood colored eyes, Albel saw a flash of blonde colored hair and fabric that flowed without any effort around the young girl, who came ever nearer. A soft sigh escaped his thin lips.

_What was she doing here?_ The thought was valid, for, the reunion was not until the next day and, if he remembered correctly, was to be held on the girl's planet-Earth. So, why was the little brat here of all places and a day early of the reunion?

The child was right beside him now and he could feel her smile on the left side of his body. He had almost forgotten just how energetic she was…he didn't miss that aspect of her at all. "You must be wondering why I'm here, right, Albel." He gave a sharp nod of the head in response.

"Well, last year, before everyone left to go their separate ways, we performed here. It was an instant hit, though; I doubt you would know that, even though you live here. So, the Troupe and I decided to do another performance in Peterny. I told Fayt and the other's about this, so, their going to pick up me, you, and Nel tomorrow. We have to meet them in the town square. From there, they are going to bring us to Earth for the reunion, like planned." Her smile turned into a grin and she grabbed Albel's left arm, his claw arm.

He made no violent movements, for, he knew that it was pointless to try to get out of this whole ordeal, and…he wanted to see her. He wanted to see the girl, Sophia. After all, even when he pushed her away so fiercely only a year ago, she haunted his mind. While he may be strong physically, mentally he was weak, thus, he was unable to push her away from his mind. Unable to get his heart to ice over and no matter how much he fooled himself into the want of loneliness…he abhorred it. He didn't want to be alone…

As they made their way out of the city, Peppita to the right of him, she sneakily caught Albel's hand in her own. A cheeky smile lit up her face and, at that moment, Albel hadn't felt up to a fight with her, so he didn't say a word. Nevertheless, he held her hand for mere minutes before he roughly released the grasp, because-in order to reach Peterny in time-they found themselves upon a dragon. As they flew among the clouds, the young teenager seemed to have found no fear; instead she just talked about senseless things, ones of no **real** importance to him.

It had been when they rode upon the back of the dragon that he noticed how she had changed over the year absence. It was a slight change, yet it was still there. While she still looked as if she were eight or nine, it seemed as if her hair had grown longer and had gotten darker, only just so, and her eyes didn't seem as big as they use to be. Other than that-she was the same-outfit included.

This observation led to another. If she had changed (even only a little) then the others must have as well. So, would he be the only one who stayed exactly the same in both physical and mental appearances? Would he be forever unchanged for the rest of his life? Was that what he wanted or did he want and **long** for change both around and inside himself? His thoughts were cut short as they landed just outside the town of Peterny. To be honest with himself, he wanted to hear the noise of a performance. He wanted to be submerged in a group of people, but, such a thing would never and could never be him. A thought he had, without his own knowledge, turned into a fact.

Colors and sounds bombarded his senses and it all made Albel seem a little light headed. The past year he had kept himself away from others, had kept to himself and tried to refreeze his heart…but now, now he got forced into the suffocation of social life, and the young brat that had brought him to the said place was, now, nowhere to be found. What annoyances! "Bah." The short sound came from his impatient lips.

"What are you doing here, Nox? You never came off as the type to like social gatherings."

"Well, you don't seem like the type to like social gatherings either, Zelpher. You're to busy with the love of your life-work." He made his tone have a hint of sarcasm and let his semi-evil smirk slip across his features.

"At least I have a life, Nox. I don't waste it sulking and pushing people away." Her tone was harsh and her expression unknown, for she stood behind him.

The words made Albel snap and in seconds he stood right beside the red headed woman, whose appearance only changed by the length of her hair. "Don't speak as if you know everything, when you know nothing, Zelpher. And know this; if it wasn't for that petty treaty and the common awareness of having once been allies against the gods…I wouldn't give a second thought to slitting your soft and petite throat." A twisted smile crawled onto Albel's face as his eyes darkened into a dangerous red. Nel held in her breath, scared to breathe, as she felt the cool metal of Albel's clawed fingers rest quite comfortably upon the flesh of her neck.

The tension was thick in the air, yet, with all the commotion over the Rossetti Troupe, no one noticed the two former enemies. That was, except for, Peppita.

"Oh, Albel, you jerk! I left you alone for a second and you're already trying to kill poor Nel." Her hands were on her hips as she spoke and her eyes glinted with irritation.

"She started it." was the childish reply given.

Peppita sighed, "That's not a good enough reason to try and practically _kill_ someone. It makes you seem more childish than me and I'm the younger one." She rolled her eyes, stuck out her tongue, and then laughed.

Albel felt his eyes narrow, "As if that isn't childish, hypocritical brat." He turned around, as if he was about to leave, yet, all three former allies knew that he had no where to go, at the moment. "Worms." His human hand paused, wavered over the top of the Crimson Scourge, and then tightened, but the sword never left its sheath. His hand relaxed.

"Well, now that you are back into your usual grumpy attitude, I've got to show you guys to your seats." And so, the night passed Albel by in a hateful blur-filled with joyful noises and an over abundance of extremely colorful colors. So, when night settled down around the town and most residents found sleep, Albel closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. That whole terror was over and done with and, with an optimist thought, he would never have to go to one of those things again in his life.

"Alright you guys. Let's head to the inn and get a good night sleep; after all, we don't want to be asleep when the rest of the gang comes to pick us up." The younger female pumped her arm up into the air, her hand in the shape of a fist, and her red fabric glided down her dark skin.

He just stalked past her and continued his gait toward the inn, sleep would be most welcomed. Maybe a good nights rest would rid him of the headache that had some how been created in such a few-rather long-hours. The moon highlighted the stone roads and the wooden buildings. The illumination from above shone bright off of his metal made claw and made the forgotten shadows in the irises of his crimson eyes become highlighted. A wicked one, he looked, with the night wrapped around him like a blanket. Protective of his inner most thoughts and his inner most emotions, for the night-the blackness-was the only thing a blind person could see.

At last, he reached the inn, and paid for his own room. He didn't even bother with the other two females that were still far behind him, they could take care of their rooms themselves, this he was certain. Thus, with an area all his, Albel's body fell onto the bed in a tired slump. Tonight, as he situated himself onto the bed, he thought of how he would let sleep take him. He told his mind that he would get a restful sleep, that he would not let himself be haunted by old and dead nightmares. That the next day he would see _her _again, that he would see Sophia.

So, with his body curled up in the multiple sheets and blanket, he felt his good hand reach for the secret he kept so close. He felt the tip of the handle of one of his swords, and dipped his hand further downward, until he touched the soft material of the stuffed cat. He pulled it out of the safe place where he stored it and held it firmly in his hand, his fingers curled protectively around it, the creation (which was so filled with cuteness it sometimes made him sick) seemed to be the only thing that locked his nightmares away-was the sole thing that gave him a sleep filled with no nightmares-just peace.

Before sleep overtook his mind, Albel let one final thought snake its way through to consciousness,_ I wonder if she has changed, I wonder if Sophia…is still Sophia._

(-)-(-)

The woman in question eyes flickered open, they took in the night. A reason unknown to her caused her heart to hammer so loudly and soundly in her chest. With the wish of sleep on her clouded mind, the excuse that the reunion was tomorrow was given for her restless heart. Yes, her eyelids began to lower over her light green orbs, she would see _him_ tomorrow. Sophia slept, her heart went back to its normal pace, and peace lain over her soul.

_**Tomorrow…**_

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, that's it. I hope everyone liked it, please tell me what you think in a review, oh, and I should have the next chapter up over the weekend. I think, anyway. This chapter wasn't suppose to be as long as it was, just meant to be a filler and transition chapter, but I had fun with it and couldn't help but to put Fayt, Nel, and Peppita into the story. Also, as if you guys probably haven't noticed already, Peppita is going to be one of the main characters. One, because she doesn't get enough recognition in fanfiction (being overshadowed by the fanfiction hogging prince Albel), and two, because I'm going to need her to develop the relationship with Albel and Sophia further. Wow, this is a _really_ long author's note, so, I'm going to stop now. Thanks for reading. : )_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	5. A Piece of Cherry Pie

_**Chapter Four: A Piece of Cherry Pie**_

_A/N: Don't have much to say here except, thank you to all my reviewers, other than that, please enjoy this new installment. : )_

(-)-(-)

_You lie. _Sophia's head shook out the thought of such old words. _I see it in your eyes. _Her eyes were now unable to be read as she swung her staff around her body. _They are laced with fear of me._ As she killed a creature, which had crept up behind her, terror did not lurk in her eyes. _How could they not, I left a scar upon your body with my claw. _A skin tight and peach colored T-shirt graced Sophia's figure and the deep claw marks were in plain sight. _That friendship that you let your mind believe that we have is nothing more than a figment of your imagination! _The year that had swept by her-it made her aware that the two did have a friendship-and it made her more determined to keep and build on the friendship that was never lost. _Stop fooling yourself and face the truth, you hate me and I hate you._ Another monster went down, and she knew, he didn't hate her-she didn't hate him. _There was nothing there and there never will be._ Sweat covered her body as she left the game simulator, she would make Albel see that they did have a friendship, and her heart longed for more. _Goodbye and good riddance._ Today, she would say hello to him and stay by his side the whole time.

She smiled.

The fabric of her blue jeans scrunched up as she headed for her home. She couldn't wait to get into her home and take a nice and hot shower. A bath, while pleasant, didn't seem like it would be sufficient for the kind of relaxation that her body felt it needed. Thus, with such a thought in mind, her legs moved faster toward her residence.

Once there, she rushed to the bathroom, and in the matter of minutes, her skin was drenched in the hot water, which poured down from overhead. She let her body become entrapped in the warm steam; her mind began to wander. Not before long her brain was consumed with such thoughts as: _I hope Albel hasn't changed, not like I have, I hope he is the same. Will he push me away again? I won't let him. I'll show him…I don't need to be protected. I got stronger for the both of us…_

Thoughts made her mind heavy and her skin felt wrinkled, thus, she realized that her shower was to come to an end. She pulled away the shower curtain and placed a warm and white towel around her full and naked frame. It was then that she got dressed and ready, for, the others would be at her house in the matter of a half hour. Once she had a new outfit on, which consisted of a light pink sundress that was adorned with light purple flowers, she began to comb her hair. Its length-much longer than what was remembered by many-and the brown pigments a lighter shade due to the summer weather.

Her hand was moved downward and her hair parted as each stroke was placed upon the hair strands. She had changed so much. The doorbell rang and she heard the sound as it traveled through the small house that she shared with her parents. And as the last bunch of hair was brushed through; Sophia got up to answer the front door, with the prior knowledge of the people whom stood behind the thin wood. Her bare feet made contact with the floor and stairs as she raced down to greet the ones who waited outside. Each contact made a dull 'thud'. In seconds she stood in front of the said door and as her fingers curled around the fake gold of the door handle-her last thought was-_what if Albel didn't want me to change…_ Her eyes widened at the contemplation. Yet, she still opened the door.

And there they all where; she knew how Fayt had changed he was more mature both in his looks and in his mental state of mind. Yet, this was the first time she had seen the others in a complete year. Cliff and Mirage both looked nearly the same as when they had all separated, they only looked somewhat older. Peppita's hair and eyes were the only changes physically, Nel's hair had grown, Adray had aged, Maria had cut her hair so that-now-it only came to the end of her neck, and then-Sophia came upon Albel. His hair was the same color, same length, his build was unchanged…But his eyes. His deep red eyes were slit shaped, that was not what changed about them; it was what they showed that was different. When she had run away from him, with a tear stained face, his eyes were emotionless with the exception of anger or confusion, yet now…

She gasped.

Multiple emotions filtered through blood rich eyes and they all seemed to shine within his orbs depths. Her body frozen and her mouth remained mute to those who waited just before the threshold. She could feel the touch of their eyes upon her, but made no movement, her mind found itself stalled. _He wasn't suppose to have changed, not like me, he was suppose to have stayed the same. He was to be just as I remembered him to be-just as cold-just as empty with emotions. Albel, you were my constant, the one thing around me…that would remain the same. That wouldn't change and leave me…alone._

"Phia….Sophia." She heard the shouts of her name from the array of people in front of her, yet, she didn't allow herself to comprehend any of them. She had yet to hear the voice that she needed to hear.

"Move, girl, and stop standing there like worthless prey." Her legs bounded forward at the sound of the voice her soul had desired to hear; with the similar harsh tone and sharp vocabulary. Tears sprung up into her green, and still emotion shielded, eyes-the water that sat upon her eyelashes was as hot as just burned ashes-her arms wrapped around the owner of the sentence previously spoken. A choked cry escaped her lips and her arms tightened around the figure.

"Albel." Sophia was unaware of her actions, why she reacted in such a way, she could not grasp. Sobs now attacked her lungs and, at the moment, an answer she cared very little for, she just wanted to be near him. She wanted to feel him alive in her arms, wanted his warmth, wanted her nose to be overcome by his scent, and truly, she just wanted him-no one else. A year-was far too long.

An artic like touch came upon her chin, as her head, with a will beyond her control, was brought upward. Tears trailed helplessly down the flesh of her cheeks, and goose bumps littered her skin due to the frozen touch, of Albel's metal claw. Nevertheless, emerald eyes stayed downcast, that was, until, "Look at me." The command was made and her submissive nature kicked in, her eyes snapped up, to look into his. She had expected eyes filled with anger, but not the shadowed depression and…disappointment, that swirled among the crimson orbs. "I hadn't thought-you were pathetic." His tone was soft and the sound of a multitude of footsteps came to her ears, for, the others could easily identify the private nature of the scene that had befallen them.

His metallic hand dropped, her head drooped back downward, and he began to walk away from her. "I've changed! I…I don't know what came over me, but, I'm not pathetic…I'm not! I won't…won't be pushed away from you again!" Passionately each letter was formed and released from her mouth, despite her crumpled state of being. "Listen to me, Albel, don't walk away from me. Don't do what I did." Pupils still dilated, she picked herself up from the floor, and she ran toward him.

She caught his claw arm and brought it close. Shock was written out in Albel's features, but he said not a word. Her voice was desperate when she spoke, "Tell me-" Here she paused, gulped down any self doubts, closed her eyes, and slowly reopened them, "how did this happen to you." Her tone was soft when the question was asked and the claw was so close to her face, that her breath easily touched it. Her eyes were glazed over in an almost hypnotic like way.

"I failed." His voice was despair ridden as he began his tale. His sharp and metal made fingers clenched together, to form a fist, not bothered by the restraint of Sophia's own hands upon the man made object. "I went to the mountains for the Accession of the Flames ritual done when one is to become the commander of the Dragon Brigade; my father had been with me." Sophia looked intensely at him, her hands moved away from his right "arm", and moved to his waist. Her arms twisted around the thin area, with ease, and her head lay over the flesh of his shoulder. Not a word of objection came from him.

"When one goes for the Accession of the Flames, they are to talk to a dragon…. If they answer the questions correctly; everything goes okay, but answer wrong, and you find death. I answered incorrectly, when asked what I hated. I named off so many things, _so many things_, but they were all wrong. I didn't say that I hated myself, at that time in my life; I hadn't even had the mind to draw a conclusion of self-hate. Nevertheless, I answered wrong, and I had awaited the fate of death. I would accept the flames as they captured my body and imprisoned me in their heated anger at my incompetence. I made myself not be disgusted at the mental image of my flesh as it melted under the ignited pressure and as my lungs would let forth screams of agony, as my body convulsed, with my grim fate. I found it to be my destiny."

A horror filled gasp resounded in the semi-large living room. "What, too graphic for you?" Sophia just tightened her hold on him and nodded her head.

"You shouldn't say such things." Her voice was quiet and saddened.

"But, that was what I had truly believed, at the time. You would be moronic if you expected me to lie to you." Blood stained irises slide over to the side as they stared downward at the brown haired woman. His eyes squinted and each breath that entered his respiratory system was let out with a soft sigh. He held his gaze on her as he continued his tale, "That destiny I had already complied to, never came, my father took it instead of me. My punishment was not fulfilled, only part of it was; this right arm. It was burned into a state of unusable."

Enraptured in the tale neither had realized just how close they were to the other. Yet, as Sophia asked another question, no positions were moved, "Can I see it?" One arm released from his waist and became set on his right arm. Her fingers traced the metal of his claw gently. Eyes no longer voided of emotion as her fingers inched ever closer to his deadly pointed fingers. And once her fingers crawled over the metal that made up the back of his hand, said hand twisted around, and their fingers-one of flesh and the other of metal-became intertwined. Then, he took off, his legs led to the stairs and Sophia was dragged behind; one arm pushed away from the warm waist due to the sudden movement and now loose in the air, and the other clamped in a hand embrace.

Amazement shone in each green pigment. He was about to show her such an intimate thing as his handicapped arm. She felt a blush upon her face and wondered if one was upon Albel's, but quickly shook the preposterous thought from her mind. But, the fact that he wanted privacy, made her believe that he **was** embarrassed, and she was unable to help the small giggle. A rough, "What" was the response, and she said not a word, just squeezed his "hand". Content, for a spilt second, until her nerve cells reached her brain, and told her of the pain; of the small cuts in the skin of her hand due to the squeeze and the claw combined.

Her indignant intake of air alerted Albel to her unwanted wounds. Thus, he unconfined her injured hand and turned around to face her. "Show me where you hurt yourself, due to stupidity." She brought forth her bloodied hand and his eyes took it all in, along with the scars on her arm, "You never learn, do you?"

Aggravation showed itself on her face and made itself known in her voice, "I forgot, alright. I'm sorry."

"Bah." He flung her hand out of his and turned around, yet again. "How could someone forget something like **that**?" As he spoke that, his head was turned so that he could see her, yet his face was hidden behind locks of blonde and black-so contradictive. Sophia's eyes swept over his frame and only then noticed just how much of a child he had sounded then-confused and spiteful and alone.

"It's not bleeding all that horribly, Albel, come on." She headed up the last few steps of the stairs, with Albel right behind her. Then they came upon the upper floor and Sophia led the way to her room, both her parents had gone out for the week, to give the former comrades a bit of freedom for their reunion.

Once they were in her room, Sophia situated herself onto her bed, while Albel expertly took off his claw, and it was then, as he stood in the middle of the room, that she noticed the absence of his armor. Yet, that seemed of little importance at the time. In a matter of minutes the metal contraption fell heavily to the ground below. Sophia's eyes could not help but be drawn to his right arm. Now free of its metallic confinement and her eyes held surprise.

Gradually she walked over to Albel, his face was turned away from her-she could feel his shame. For, there his arm hung, limp and sloppily bandaged. As she touched the damaged arm, Sophia saw Albel's face cringe, out of the corner of her eye. The lightest of touches upon that arm caused a twinge through him, yet, he was incapable of movement; it was as if that arm was paralyzed, and the third degree burn, that ran its course over the arm, was proof enough for that theory.

"How are you able to move your claw in battle and outside of battle, if you can't move your arm without the claw on it?" Her voice was airy as she spoke the question, for; she was both fascinated and terrified by the sight.

"The burn doesn't start until my forearm. After I was brought back from the Urssa Lava Caves, some symbologists from that retched Kingdom of Aquaria came to the castle. Don't forget, we were at peace then. If you were able to move your eyes away from the burn, you would have taken note of the symbol imprinted in my skin; right where my claw begins, when I put it on. They had put that there so I could have movement in this arm; they put a corresponding symbol on the inside of my claw, when the two are combined, my arm can move. Of course, I don't quite know the whole thing; after all, I don't take interest in drawing pictures." Albel let out a small huff after the explanation was finished.

"I see…" The rest of the sentence was not of much importance, for, it fell forgotten on her tongue.

Albel made his way over to her bed and his body crashed against the overly pink coverings. Then he elevated himself, steadied by his arms, which where on either side of him. With his head titled and faced toward her, he asked, "Why did you have to go and change like that?"

"Oh, well, you see…I wanted to get stronger. I guess…I wanted to prove to you my worth…" Her voice was shaky and uncertain; after all, the inquiry had caught her off guard.

Albel just let out a short and hushed laugh, "You just wanted to impress me."

"No-…yes." The oxymoron was whispered from her pink lips; her head was bowed.

"I thought as much. Why?"

"You value strength, so, I thought, if I was strong enough, you wouldn't push me away again." Uncalled for tears appeared in her eyes.

He got up from the bed and harshly wiped the few stray water droplets that crept down her skin. "You were strong enough. You didn't have to push your body like that, you didn't have to…change, Sophia." He passed by her and went right out of her bedroom door. An object had fallen.

Sophia bent down and saw the object up close-it was her small stuffed cat.

(-)-(-)

The night protected him. It comforted him. Put his worries away, as the stars shined from above. He hadn't even bothered with his claw; he had just left it and then headed into one of the empty rooms. Closed the door and had stayed in there, he didn't attend to dinner, yet, the loss of food didn't go unnoticed.

His mind was a puddle from the moment he had seen her that day. A jumbled mess of emotions and thoughts; ones that he had no control over, and it just irritated him to no end. He wished to scream, but, every time he tried, his voice seemed to die on him. All of this was because of the simple-one word question-_why_.

So many why questions flooded his mind that he didn't even want to be aware of them. Thus, he was about to let sleep claim him, but a knock on the door made him coherent once again. He didn't say a single thing, yet, the door opened and he was right to guess who was behind it. The girl was there, along with the brat. They were both dressed in bed attire and both smiled at him as they came into the room.

He was shrouded in the dark as the moon's light was cast upon the two, which made them seem like saints. The girl's longer hair was put up in a low ponytail and her eyes seemed to be filled with weariness. Yet, she smiled, and it was a true one; not just some simple mask. The brat, on the other hand, was hyper as usual and showed this energy as she crash landed on the bed, right beside Albel, her fingers wrapped around his claw, which he then took from her and quickly set into place.

She made no further actions, so, he did not a single thing about it, and his attention was not the brat, but the girl. She held items in her hands. As she neared he recognized one to be a piece of pie. She placed the plate with the food in his lap, and tucked the other item where he kept his sword. Then she made her way back to the door, each step echoed in the silent night.

Her back was to him, "I wasn't the only one who changed-your eyes aren't as cold as they use to be. Pleasant dreams, Albel, come on Peppita, time for bed."

"Alright, Sophia." And with that, the younger female hopped off of the bed, and skipped over to the older female. The two exited the blue tinted room; the door shut behind them.

Albel just reached for the object that was placed, in with his swords, and pulled out the stuffed animal cat. She had given back one of her own belongings to someone else and, without words, said, _"I'm sorry."_

(-)-(-)

Sunlight poured into Sophia's room as she woke up to the next day. The events of the previous day still freshly imprinted on her mind. Thus, she walked over to the room that Albel had unintentionally claimed as his, she opened the door as silently as she could, and felt a smile play its way onto her features. For, there on the floor, was the plate that held the piece of pie she had brought up to Albel last night.

Only crumbs were left.

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, that's the end of the chapter. Please, tell me what you think in a review, oh, and the next chapter will be a filler chapter. It will give some insight to the other characters on what they thought of the whole scene between Albel and Sophia and just the two characters in general. It will also tell of the events that took place when Albel was in "his" room brooding. The next chapter is going to be short, I know it will, and I wish it could be longer, but I know for a fact, that with all my upcoming tests…my brain will be like scrambled eggs, thus, chapter five is gonna be short. :P See ya. :D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	6. Hear MeListen

**_Chapter Five: Hear Me-Listen_**

_A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry about the long wait, school has drained me, and I had trouble writing up this chapter. It isn't all that good and it's really short, something that I am **so** sorry about, but it was meant to be a transition chapter anyway. Thanks to all of my reviewers. : )_

(-)-(-)

Fayt felt Mirage push him away from the scene in front of him and towards the kitchen, Nel held Cliff in her clutches as well, Peppita and Maria and Adray walked behind. They could all sense the privacy of the moment between the two, thus, they would leave them alone.

Just the other day, when Fayt had seen that broken form of Sophia, her tears shed due to some false creation, in her mind, of not being strong enough-Fayt hated Albel-felt jealous of him. But, now, as he passed by the two, one desperately latched onto the other-he was unable to feel those emotions again. Why? Was it because he had noticed the change in Albel as well, sensed the silent plea of loneliness? Or could it be that, when the two of them stood there locked in a cold embrace, they looked like a stain glassed picture-pieced together in imperfection-one false move or one harsh word would make the whole moment shatter? Either way, they all knew that silence was of up most importance, thus, not a single sound was made as they moved.

Once they were all seated at the kitchen table, though Peppita took residence on the kitchen counter, with the door shut behind them-the questions and exclamations all came out like a flood gate-despite this though; they kept their voices to a low pitch. Who? Where? What? Why? How? Inquires bombarded Fayt and made his head spin. "All of you be quiet! Can't you see that you've all asked Fayt-chan too many questions in too short a time?" Peppita was the only one who hadn't asked any questions. Her legs swung back and forth as she sat-perched upon the dark blue counter top-her pigtails swung back and forth slightly.

"Peppita's right. We aren't going to get any valid answers if we keep shouting like this. I say that we go around the room and ask Fayt a question-I'll star…" The statement, which had come from Maria's mouth, was cut short by Peppita, "Nope."

"What do you mean, 'Nope', what else can we possibly do? This seems to be the most effective conclusion I can come up with that can pertain to everyone's queries." A hint of annoyance was noted in Maria's voice.

"Fayt-chan won't have the answer to all of the questions that are going to be asked, but I do." The young girl giggled and jumped down from her spot on the counter. Her feet made contact to the floor with an almost silent 'thud'. "I'll tell you about the first time Sophia, Albel, and I had one of our little 'chats'." A smile played on her lips.

"I remember waking up in the middle of the night, Sophia had put me to sleep, and I wanted something sweet to snack on. So I headed down to the inn's kitchen, and I saw the two of them sitting at the table. Sophia was talking about her life on Earth and Albel wasn't saying a word. Then I walked in, Sophia stopped talking, I felt slightly embarrassed. But, I just said that I wanted something to eat, so, Albel threw an apple at me, told me to shut up, and then pointed to an empty seat in between him and Sophia. I sat down, ate my apple, and watched the scene in front of me." Here Peppita paused for a second, with the need to catch her breath, for she spoke quickly.

She then continued the others wrapped up in her tale, "It seemed like they had met like that before, the way they both were so comfortable around each other, I kinda felt like an intruder. As time passed though, I met with them a few times a week, and we fell into a sort of ritual of sorts. Albel would only speak to Sophia at the beginning of our little get-togethers and at the end, yet, did argue a lot, with me, over some small and stupid things. But, he never said a word to Sophia when she told him of her life-nope-he just listened." Peppita took a deep sigh, walked over to the kitchen door, peaked out and saw that Sophia and Albel were no longer there, and then skipped out.

The tale was met with silence, no outbursts and no questions, just a gentle hush. The others were all lost in their thoughts about what the dark skinned girl had told them, and Fayt couldn't help but come to one conclusion:

Through words Sophia had smashed Albel's cold defensive shell…

And, without any words at all, Albel replaced that omnipresent smile…

With a frown.

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, there is the end of the incredibly short chapter. Don't worry though, next chapter will be longer and the actual plot of this story makes itself known, along with how Adray ended up back with the group, I need to add a little humor now and then, right? Anyway, please tell me what you think of this chapter, even though, there really isn't that much to comment on… Until next time, ja ne: D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	7. Beauty and the Beast

_**Chapter Six: Beauty and the Beast**_

_A/N: Hello, everyone! Sorry about the long wait, but think of it like this, you have a really nice and long chapter ahead of you that actually begins the plot of this story. I just want to thank all of my readers and reviewers out there and, actually, this chapter turned out even longer than I had planned, well, I hope you all enjoy it anyway. : D_

(-)-(-)

Bright, the room was overly bright; the light seemed to burn right through his weakly shut eyelids. Albel heard a small moan as it escaped his lips; sleep was still heavy upon his body and mind. Yet, in mere minutes he sat up, his black and blonde hair disheveled, and his blood red eyes hazy. Even so, they acknowledged that the plate, which had once contained reminisces of the cherry pie, was now gone. The girl had obviously been in his room.

Slowly he got up. His eyes swept over the room and took in the sight of folded clothes. They looked as if they had been lain out for him to wear, once again, the work of the girl. After all, who else would enter his room, surely none of the other maggots? Yes, that seemed the most likely conclusion, and he was almost positive that she wanted him to wear the fabrics.

He made his way over to the clothes, picked them up, and then placed them on the messy bed. He checked out each article and was able to figure out what was what, thus, he took off his normal attire and put on the foreign clothes. The shirt he had on was a deep red and the jeans were pitch black, and the tightness of the fabrics against his skin were backwards to what he was use to, instead of his form fitting top-the red shirt was loose-and the pants that replaced his slack purple skirt were taut. He sighed.

As he walked down the stairs (rather clumsily) the new outfit felt so alien on his body, and his bare feet appeared unable to contain a good sense of balance. Nevertheless, he made it to the bottom and was greeted by a very cheerful Peppita, who was decked out in colors most would say resembled a bumble bee.

Peppita had on her skin tight shorts, and a rather large yellow T-shirt, which slide down slightly to reveal her left shoulder. Her blonde hair was set in the normal pigtail style, yet, both ponytails were done up in braids. With her eyes set upon Albel, her bright eyes glowed, and a large smile grew onto her face. She bounced her way over to Albel, "That shirt matches with your eyes, Albel!"

"Bah, so what, I don't like it." His voice was rather harsh when he spoke and he gave Peppita an annoyed glare. For him, the hour was too early to deal with such energy.

Peppita looked saddened by those words, "Why don't you like the shirt. Sophia took an extra long time to pick it out. You know, she really likes your eyes, always talking about how they are the most unique eyes she has ever seen."

"That's okay; I figured he wouldn't be overly found of the shirt, after all, I think his favorite color might be purple." Sophia let out a minute giggle and her eyes shown with laughter. Albel just let out an aggravated sigh and began to walk away from the two-cheerful-females. Nevertheless, they followed behind him and into the kitchen.

"You should be more grateful to Sophia, Albel! Just imagine if she hadn't picked out your clothes. Who knows what you could have ended up wearing." Her voice was forceful, in her childish way, and her face stern.

"Why, what maggot would have picked out my outfit beside the girl?" Albel asked, even though, his voice didn't sound as interested in the conversation as it could have, and by then they entered the kitchen; Mirage was relaxed at the table.

She let out a short and soft laugh, "Well, Cliff was more than willing to pick out clothes for Nel, I'm sure he wouldn't have minded picking out some articles for you either. Then again, Nel didn't wear what Cliff picked out for her anyway; _really_, he must be an idiot if he thought she would put _that_ on!" Mirage shook her head and rolled her eyes; her hand held a cup of steaming coffee.

"A **maid's outfit**! Is he out of his mind? I swear! Did he really expect me to wear something like that? And were did he get such an outfit? Oh, he is the most perverted man I have _ever_ met!" Nel's voice was brought into the conversation, "If it hadn't been for Sophia, I would have been humiliated." Her red hair fell into her deep green eyes and her arms were crossed over a simple black T-shirt. Her legs were covered by a mid-thigh black skirt. Her anger rolled off of her aura in waves.

Albel walked past the spy and took a place at the table. He made a grab for an apple, but Sophia snatched it away from him. "Apples may be good for you, but I swear, it is all I _ever_ see you eat. So, instead, you are going to have a wonderful homemade meal."

Albel had let the thought that she might have just cleaned up from a previous breakfast that she had made for the others. But…Since she hadn't uttered a word about it, he didn't see any need to vocalize it, after all, he wasn't bothered by the idea of a homemade meal, from her, at all.

(-)-(-)

"I promise that it will be much more fun than you think it will be, Peppita." Voiced Sophia, her tone hinted at a small dose of persuasion. They were to go to the old museum; this would inform Albel, Nel, and Adray in on some of Earth's history, and was thought of to be the best place to start their week long reunion. Of course, Peppita was not a type of teenaged girl who liked museums, thus, she protested for as long as she could. In the end though, she gave into Sophia, no pout upon her lips, but disappointment shone deeply in her eyes.

Sophia sighed, with a mixture of relief and weariness, who would have thought that the girl could and would be so stubborn? "Well, one scenario down, one more to go." Slowly she walked up the stairs and knocked on Albel's door. She then heard a muffled sound, which she assumed to be "Come in", and thus, made her way into the room.

Albel lain upon the bed, his hair was not done up in its usual hairstyle of two wrapped strands, instead, his hair was loose and hung freely around his lithe body. His form was twisted in both the comforter and the sheets, and in that moment, Sophia thought that he looked like a fallen angel. In that second of unnoticed attention, Albel gave off a mixture of untouchable wretchedness and undeniable beauty, and it made Sophia wonder how a thing can both be wicked and humane-bitter and sweet-mature and immature all at the same time. How can one person hold true to so many contradictions and still keep their sanity? Or, are all humans like that, and they just don't realize it in themselves-only in others? The queries made Sophia's head feel as if she were about to drown.

Even still, she had one last question that she was required to ask, and this one had to be verbalized. How Albel was to take the issue, Sophia had hardly any idea, though; he seemed more open around her than any of the other companions. Sophia readied herself for any possible outcome, and then cleared her throat, for; she wanted to make her presence known to Albel.

"I was wondering when you were going to speak up." Albel let out a soft and short laugh; a smirk plastered to his thin features.

Shock played across Sophia's face, as strands of her light brown hair fell into her radiant green eyes. "Oh…um…I-I d-d-didn't realize that you knew I was here." Here she paused, took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then cleared her throat (as if to start all over again), "There's a favor I have to ask of you, Albel. You see, on this planet (Earth)…not many people walk around with metal claws. So, could you possibly just…take off your claw for the week?" Her voice got softer and softer with each word she spoke, a hint of uncertainty and fear lurked in her tone.

She took in a sharp breath and her eyes snapped shut; her body prepared for any for any form of a lash out, yet, no such thing ever came. Sophia opened her eyes gingerly and watched Albel gently take off his metal claw in silence. Light poured into the, rather small, room through the small window above the bed. Sunlight glinted off of the metal claw as Albel placed it upon the unmade bed; his arm slumped-unless-to his side.

"Thank you." Her head was bent and her eyes were narrowed in melancholy, she understood how hard it must have been for him; he began to walk towards the door. "Aren't you going to put your hair up like you usually do?"

"Whatever. If I go by what you say, then I'm sure that my hairstyle isn't normal here either. Am I right?" By now he was right in front of her. His hair cascaded around his body, a white shine glowed around him, the sign of the day still in its early hours. His crimson eyes stared down into her own; they seemed to hypnotize her, and the more she gazed into them, the more she wondered if all the people he killed were what stained them such a color. Sharply she broke away from his hold on her; movement came back into her muscles and her voice became known again as she gasped.

"Y-You're right. The way you normally wear your hair would make you stick out like a sore thumb here on Earth."

"Then give me a hairstyle that is more _normal_." His voice held command in it, and Sophia felt the urge to just due as he said, thus, she nodded her head.

She turned around and said, as she left the guest room, "I'll be back in a second, so don't go anywhere!"

The sound of footsteps as they headed towards the room could be heard in almost an instant. Sophia had returned with an elastic in her hand and it was thick, since Albel had quite a bit of hair. "I'm going to put your hair up into a ponytail; do you want it high or low?"

"Low."

Sophia gave a sigh that turned into a softhearted laugh, "Somehow, I figured you say as much." She walked behind Albel and then came to the conclusion that he was much taller than her and mentally slapped herself because of the obviousness of her unsaid statement. "Would you mind sitting down on the bed, Albel?"

He just started to walk over to the bed and sat down upon it, he gave no sign of acknowledgement, but Sophia had expected as such. Thus, once beside the bed she crawled on and moved behind Albel. His hair was so long that it ran into the fabrics of the bed. So, when she began her work of putting his hair up into a ponytail, she was cautious, after all, she didn't want to pull any of his hair-she knew enough of how much that hurt.

Her long fingers tangled themselves in his two shaded hair. As her fingertips swept over each strand, she noted on how smooth and well-kept each one of his locks were, whether they were black or blonde. And as she gathered the mane into her palms; black and blonde twisted together, such contradiction even in his hair. In mere minutes she finished and his hair was now set in a ponytail. "There, all set!" She smiled widely at him from behind.

"Um, Albel, I was wondering. What color hair did your parents have?" Sophia asked shyly, for, she wanted to know about Albel's odd hair color, but was unsure of where she stood when it came to his parents.

"My father had black hair." That was all he said, he made no act to show that he was to say more.

"What about your moth-"

"Shut up!" His cold words cut right through Sophia's sentence, thus, she decided to change the topic.

"Okay, how about your eyes; did you get them from your father?" He made no reply and, in most cases, people would take such a thing as a yes, but Sophia took it as a no. "Then your eyes must have come from your-"

"Stop!" They were still on the bed, yet, Albel whipped around; a look of almost insanity swam in his blood red irises. Without a sign to warn her, Albel pinned her into the messy bed, his body over her own and their faces only inches away from each other. Leisurely, he brought his lips to her ear and whisper, "Stop. Why can't you…" Here he trailed off as he moved his lips down from her ear and toward her own pink lips. As he his mouth hovered centimeters away from her own, he whispered, "…ever just shut up." And his lips captured hers.

Wide and almost fearful green eyes gradually shut as she felt his touch-so tender-and so opposite of what he showed everyone. Her mind froze and her sense of touch seemed to be intensified, all she wanted to do was make this connection between them last-to deepen. But, Albel had no such thought, as he pulled away from her. Sophia's eyes were only half opened as they glanced over at Albel who had got off of the bed, her eyes told of her want for more. He was no genie, though, and her wish went un-granted.

He dipped down next to her once again, lips by her ear, "It seems that the only way I can get you to shut up, is by kissing you." He then grazed his thin lips over her ear; he left the room. Sophia was left to ponder just _what_ went through that man's mind, but, all the answers she came up with just confused her and just created more questions for her to answer. Though, the ultimate question still stood:

_Why?_

(-)-(-)

"Oh man! What's taking them so long, Mirage?" Peppita whined and pouted as she stood at the bottom of the stairs in the living room. Her patience had run too thin, she could no longer hold in her annoyance.

"I'm sure they will be down any minute now, Peppita, just be a little more patient." Came the calm and collected voice of Mirage.

"Or, based on what we saw this earlier, the two could be having a really _interesting_ time, if you know what I mean." The voice of Cliff was heard in the background, but was soon silenced by loud '**smack**', which they all could assume came from Nel.

"I swear you are the most disgusting man I have ever met!" Nel's voice rang through the small area.

Silence took over the room, though, that moment came and went, "Ow… that hurt…" Cliff's voice took on a childish tone as he complained.

"Well, that was a late reaction, and don't even think about asking me to help you out of this mess. I can safely put forth that I have no say in this." Fayt let his tone of voice be deadpan.

Meanwhile, Maria added in a short, "You never learn, do you." And she said it in such a way that it was a statement, not a question.

"Why is it that no one seems to know how to just be quiet around here?" Albel walked down the stairs and Peppita made a headlong run to glomp him, alas, he moved out of the way and Peppita hit the floor with a loud '**thump**'.

Peppita just got up from the floor and turned to glare at Albel. Her hand rubbed a spot on her head that, most likely, hurt the most. "Owie, that really hurt, ya know!"

Albel just turned his back to the fifteen-year old. "Well, it was your own dumb fault. The only one you have to blame for getting hurt is yourself." After Albel's words, footsteps were heard in the direction of the stairs.

Sophia came down them; her appearance did not show of what took place above, instead she just frowned. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is, the fact remains that she is hurt. Come here, Peppita, let me see where you hurt yourself."

Peppita got up, her eyes lined with unshed tears, and walked over to Sophia, "Now, let me have a look at your head…Oh, it's nothing that big, just a tiny bump. You should be okay, now go and apologize to Albel."

Peppita glared at Sophia, sighed, and mumbled out an apology; Albel just nodded his head to show that he heard her and accepted the apology. "You have to apologize too, Albel."

"What are you, a fool? I have absolutely nothing to apologize for." And with that Albel marched over to the door, threw it open, and then took off.

Sophia ran after him, "Wait, Albel, you don't even know where we are going yet!" Her panicked voice could be heard, even though, she was now outside of the house. The others just shrugged there shoulders and strolled out after the two.

"When did Albel start wearing his hair in a low ponytail?" Fayt asked once he was outside.

"Since today, kid," was the answer he received from Adray.

(-)-(-)

Once everyone caught up with Albel and Sophia, they began to walk to the museum, since it was such a nice day out. Peppita held tight to Sophia's hand and the two both graced the world with smiles that even a blind person could see.

Since it was such a nice day out, they had all decided to walk to the museum, and for that, Albel was thankful; he didn't want to ride in one of those metal carriages. He hated this place-this Earth-were all the things he thought to be normal were abnormal, and all the things he found abnormal were normal. What a pain.

Albel's eyes slid to the side, and he caught the form of Sophia and Peppita, the stupid girl was doing it, yet again, how it aggravated him. Her true emotions were hid behind a fake smile, but her eyes frowned and held confusion in their depths. He felt a small growl be released from his lips, which Sophia and Peppita heard. Both turned to look at him.

"Are you okay, Albel?" Sophia asked another emotion joined all the others in her overcrowded eyes-concern. He hated that emotion. He despised it.

"I'm fine, but your not." The statement was said so plainly that it shocked Sophia more than it should have.

"What are you talking about? I am, too, fine." Determination played itself across her face when she said those words.

"Damnit, what a bunch of lies, you're **not** fine! A smile may be on your face, but no smile is lit in your eyes. Stop running away from your problems, stop thinking that you can just lock everything away and then it will be okay, just **stop**!" Albel's blood dyed orbs shone with frustration as he yelled at Sophia, who was now on the verge of tears, and when he was finished with his small rant-Sophia was crumpled to the floor tears in her eyes.

By now, all the others stopped to watch the two, and when Sophia crumbled to the ground, Fayt was by her side in an instant. "What do you think you're doing, Albel! Did you really want to make her cry like this?" Fayt bent down next to the tear filled girl.

"No, Fayt, I can handle this." Her voice was shaky, but she didn't trip over any of her words, nor did she go into another fit of tears. Instead, she stood up, as straight as she could be, "I want to get stronger, so I have to do this on my own. You hypocrite! You contradict yourself everywhere, with everything that you do, even your looks are contradictive! You wanted me to show my true feelings? Okay, why did you do what you did back there? Huh? Tell me! Tell me now, because, you know, you hide too…" Her eyes never moved away from his.

"I don't know." He looked at the ground when he spoke, and then began to walk away, he didn't even bother to look back. If he had, he would have seen the frown and the confusion on Sophia's face.

(-)-(-)

Finally, they were at the museum. It seemed as if they were bound to never reach their destination, yet, they did. Of course, Sophia and Albel had yet to say a word to each other since their argument, such a thing was expected. On a lighter note, at the moment Sophia listened as Adray explained how he had ended up in the whole reunion.

He told her how he had heard of the Troupe's arrival in Peterny and figured that a lot of young and worthy men for his daughter would be there. Nel had caught wind of his plan and had told him that Clair had wanted to talk to him in her room; of course, Sophia realized that this was a lie as Adray informed her of this detail, but he seemed oblivious. Of course, he had gone to "meet" Clair, only to find that she wasn't in the room at the time. He came to the conclusion that something came up and that she was unable to make it, so, he tried to exit the room only to find it locked. Sophia, whom was now lost in the tale, asked how he got out of the room, and Adray had simply said that he continually rammed himself into the heavy door until it was broken off its hinges and fell to the floor. By that point, Sophia was slightly disturbed and no longer interested in his story; she realized that she was better off in the dark when it came to the end.

Sophia kept an eye on everybody as they explored the museum. She was pleased to see that Nel, Albel, and even Peppita were interested in the exhibits that the museum had to offer. As she watched them examine the 20th and 21st century exhibit, she caught on to Peppita, whom seemed attracted to a 20th century book on display. Thus, Sophia rushed over to her, eyes wide, and once she was by the younger female's side, simply said, "Put that down Peppita!"

"Oh, but I just want to look at it, I heard my mother talk about these books and movies. She said her mother use to read them to her when she was younger. Please, can't I just have _one_ look at the pictures inside? Please!" The blonde haired girl pleaded and Sophia almost gave in.

Yet, she held her ground, "No, you can't Peppita, now let me put the book away." Sophia grabbed the book out of the girl's hand and held it in her own. Yet, she began to feel a familiar sensation in her fingertips, as the dreaded symbols flowed through her veins. But why were her powers in activation now? It didn't make any sense at all! She let out such a large gasp one could almost say that it was a scream.

That alerted all the others and they ran over to the two females; though Albel, whom was the closest to them, got their first, "What the hell is going on?" He looked at the two who were surrounded in a faint white light, due to Sophia's connection powers, and grasped Sophia's arm. And, it just so happens, that at that moment…All three of them disappeared.

(-)-(-)

Peppita, Albel, and Sophia crashed into the ground as they reappeared. The only thing wrong with them were that they were slightly shaken up, they were all fine otherwise. As the three looked around, they were instantly able to tell that they were not in Tokyo; at least, not in the present Tokyo they had just been in, for, as Albel looked around he found that a lot of the buildings he had seen in the museum exhibit were all around them.

"We're in the 20th century!" Sophia exclaimed her eyes wide and her mouth opened only slightly in surprise.

"What! No way! How did we end up here?" Peppita asked, her voiced filled to the brim with panic. "Albel, how did we end up here, Albel…Sophia?" She flung herself at a distracted Albel, and, she didn't even realize that Albel would have none of the answers to seek. Peppita only knew that Albel made her feel better-safe-and that was what she wanted at the moment.

"Peppita, get off Albel right now! This isn't a time to panic like that, we just need to keep calm and think." Sophia ordered Peppita.

"Yeah, you're right Sophia." She immediately released herself from Albel; a look of indifference was held on his face, as if he wanted to ignore something.

Sophia sighed and then walked over to Albel, "What do you suggest we do, Albel?"

He looked at her, but confusion was evident on his face, and fear struck Sophia. "Albel, can you understand me?"

He then said something; yet, Sophia was unable to understand what it was. Why couldn't he understand her, she had her communication device on her, so everything should be fine…So, why?

Sophia was terrified now and it didn't help when she heard Peppita speak up, "This century's technology must not be able to let our communication devices work." Her voice sounded as hopeless as Sophia felt. What were they to do now?

They couldn't understand Albel, and Albel couldn't understand them, at that moment, Sophia wished she had to save the world all over again;she had the distinct impression that it would be easier.

(-)-(-)

Meanwhile, the others just looked at the spot where the three had vanished into, what most would consider thin air, "What book was Peppita holding Fayt?" The interested and slightly worried voice of Mirage came up behind Fayt, whom was right next to the area where Albel, Peppita, and Sophia had stood only minutes before.

Here he picked up the book and looked at the front cover; he looked at the plain and simple words printed across it, and spoke, "She was holding the book called 'Beauty and the Beast'."

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, that's it everyone. I'm sure you have quite a few questions and I'm 99.9 sure that they will _eventually_ get answered. But, for right now, just go along with what I have written. Anyway, I hope you all liked it and please tell me what you think in a review! Thanks and please take care! Ja ne. : D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	8. Rustic Silence

_**Chapter Seven: Rustic Silence**_

_A/N: Hello there everyone! I know that it's been a **really** long time since I've updated. But, I became extremely busy and I decided to finish my Fruits Basket fic, which I have. So, now my time is going to be focused on this fic, though, I do have a Fruits Basket fic up, which will have a bunch of one-shots that had ideas that never got into my other story. I see that one as more of a whenever I feel like updating it, I will, type of fic; nothing more. Oh, and thanks so much for the reviews everyone, they keep me writing this fic! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy. : )_

(-)-(-)

Hands interlocked Sophia led herself and Peppita onto the busy sidewalks of Tokyo. Albel, fully aware of the unknown factor that was presented at him, held Peppita's other small hand in his own. The trio walked. Many would mistake them for a family. Yet, such a thought never occurred in any of their minds. All any of them could ponder over was where they were to go because, by the dark clouds that were glued together over head, rain would fall from the sky soon-this was known without a doubt.

_What can we do and where can we go?_ Sophia's mind centered on these two questions, as her legs moved her down the continuous path of sidewalks. They knew no one in this time, and none of the area that surrounded her looked a bit like the Tokyo her eyes could easily identify.

"Sophia, I'm hungry." Those words, which were spoken from Peppita's lips were quiet, thus, the younger girl must have realized the serious nature of their predicament.

The older woman glanced at the shops and stores that surrounded them. She glanced at prices and at the currency, yen. _Good, so the currency hasn't changed over the years._ That thought helped calm her, though, it was only for a few seconds, for the realization that she might not even _have_ money on her slammed into her brain. Hurriedly, Sophia checked her pockets and found a small amount of yen, surely not enough for three people to live off of for who knows how long. Yet, it would be enough to get a little bit of food to eat at the moment.

Peppita squeezed her hand and Sophia could sense Albel's eyes on her as well because, even though he could not understand the words that the two females said, she was positive he could feel her unease. "Do you have enough money to get us food, Sophia?" her green eyes large and worried.

"Don't worry; I have enough money to get us some food." A smile graced her face, to hide the actual concern; Peppita was still so young-she didn't need to have this kind of weight on her shoulders. Sophia didn't want to deal with it all either, so, a smile was the temporary solution. A chill swept its way up her spine, and Sophia could almost touch the glare that Albel's blood stained orbs sent her way.

He was right. She did run away from her problems. She didn't go through the physical feat, but, she ran whenever that fake smile curved its way over her pink lips. Yet, just how she hid behind a dim smile, he hid behind a glass hard glare. So different, so the same; she had come to that conclusion multiple times already, yet, each time she did-the awe never lessened.

_Sometimes, the most easily spotted thing was the most hidden and the most obvious… ended up as the most unexpected._ That was the only way she could describe her relationship with Albel. If a relationship between them even truly existed at all.

Light emerald irises scanned the dreary city, her pupils took in all the brick and cement and glass that made up stores and businesses. _Something to eat, something to eat…_ Her eyes lit up when she spotted an ice cream vendor. Peppita would like that; it could keep both their minds off of the predicament they presently found themselves in. Thus, with her decision made, Sophia grasped the child's hand and rushed towards the vendor, Albel followed behind the two (hand still connected to the fifteen-years-old one).

Once in line the brunette asked, "Okay, what kind of ice cream do you want?" She could feel the paper money in her pocket, she didn't have much…"We have to get kiddy size ice cream cones, okay?" The blonde nodded her head to tell that she understood, yet, Sophia knew that she understood fully when she didn't ask why. Albel just stared blankly at the two, and Sophia could tell that her sympathy for him showed clearly on her face.

"I want Strawberry." The young Esteed was slightly taken off guard when her ears comprehended this simple statement. For some reason, the girl hadn't seemed like a Strawberry ice-cream person; after all, the girl loved sweet things. Then again, strawberries had their own natural sugar, just like all fruits did; this was true sugar…pure sugar, not the fake sugar of chocolate. She didn't utter a word.

All three waited in line, that is, until their turn to order finally came. "I want three kiddy cones; one Chocolate, one Strawberry, and one Vanilla." the three flavors that made up a Banana Spilt, the three original ice cream flavors. A few select moments passed, and then they received their ice creams. "Here you go, Peppita." Sophia handed her the pink colored treat.

The girl smiled brightly when she took the treat in her hands, "Thank you, Sophia-chan."

"You're welcome." Sophia grinned back.

Slowly and cautiously she approached Albel. She knew he wouldn't be able to understand a word she was about to say, but maybe, just maybe, her expressions could get the point across. "I don't know if they have ice cream on Elicoor II, I never really thought about it before, and I have no idea if you like ice cream in general…but, Vanilla seems like the appropriate choice in flavor for you. So, here." She held the food out to him, and he took it from her, gently. With a nod, she let out a little giggle.

Maybe this wouldn't be all that hard, it might not be all that bad, she would get to spend some time with Albel, so that would be nice….right?

They continued their gait down the weary sidewalks, dirtied by years of abuse. Gadgets and gizmos that were all seen as top of the line here were just out dated devices to her, and all of the new and unused furniture and other personal items such as that, where just antiques to her eyes-they were not modern or contemporary, rather, they were retro and old. She felt like an outsider, in this rustic place.

(-)-(-)

They were leaving the museum with the book, it had taken quite a while, but the owner of the said museum understood the situation and security tapes helped to prove their story. Mirage couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips. What where they to do? Her mind felt frazzled, but, her face never showed her emotions. While she wasn't emotionless, she had very good control over the emotions she let others see and the emotions she only let herself know she had.

"I think, our best move, will be to see Blair. And our best course to get to Blair would be to go through the Time Gate. Hopefully, it will still be working." Fayt's voice rang out to the other members of the group, the tone held that of a leader, and Mirage couldn't help but feel a odd sensation known as déjà vu. Her bones ached with the recognition of a journey. She guessed that this adventure would not be of the epic proportions as their previous one had been, but, that it would help to bring together and unite this band of 'heroes'.

After all of this was through, and with the positive outlook that everyone would survive, Mirage couldn't help but wonder, if the three of their group that had suddenly disappeared, would no longer be outcasts when they returned. There wasn't much else she could ponder when it came to that choice of topic; she could only hope that the outcome would be a happy one. She wasn't one for a tragedy and she didn't know many who were.

Worry and concern was evident on all of their faces, though, Mirage had the nasty thought that how she felt towards the days events were the only true ones. That the others, purely out of appearance, held the emotions of anxiety and apprehension; that they went through the motions without any true soul behind it all. Yet, when she looked at Fayt's face…such horrid thoughts left within the seconds that they had appeared. For, in that moment that she looked at him, she could only make out a face much too old than it should be, and an image from a year ago flashed into her mind. The image of Fayt when she had first met him-without Sophia-yet, now it seemed he had aged double the amount. After all, Sophia was not his only friend lost to him at the moment, Albel and Peppita were gone too.

The disappearance of the three was hard on them all. It was selfish of her to think otherwise, but, she remembered the way Albel, Sophia, and Peppita spent time with each other last year. Remembered how the others, beside her, had practically ignored them. Perhaps, just like the old book they had found, this journey…adventure…story…was to teach all of them a lesson.

With that muse in mind, Mirage speculated what her lesson could possibly be; only to come to the conclusion that she would be better off not to even know, until the lesson was learned and stored safely in her memory. Yes, that seemed to be her best move, thus, she followed the rest out of the museum front doors.

(-)-(-)

Cold; that was the first thing Albel noted as he licked the soft treat that Sophia had handed to him. He had the distinct impression that what he ate, at the moment, was not all too healthy. This came about due to the large amount of sugar he could taste in the substance. He had no idea what the said substance was, but he could identify the flavor, which he happened to like. He just had no idea how to tell the two females this, which only helped to piss him off. Add in the fact that he was in an unknown place, in unfamiliar clothes, and unprotected just pissed him off even more.

Right at that moment, life sucked, though, he had to admit that whatever the treat was-tasted really good.

The two talked and those unknown words bombarded his ear drums. He hated those foreign words. He really hated them! Why was it that the little brat who, if his knowledge was correct, was not from this planet, able to understand the woman?

He was angered now and worse yet, he had finished off that cold food, and so, he had not a single thing to keep his mind off of the events before him. That was, until he felt the brat give his hand a squeeze. He looked down at her and saw the sad smile that played off her lips. Traces of pink cream could be seen on her checks and around her lips, so, with his-what-would-be-clawed hand; he wiped the pink from her face.

He just smirked at the young girls confused eyes. He wasn't known to laugh or even to chuckle at such things, thus, a reaction such as that was not met. And, as the brat dragged him towards some building that the woman was headed towards, Albel couldn't help but condemn the silence. Normally, he loved it, but, right now, he hated it. He wasn't used to the silence, which now governed, over the two individuals in front of him. He _was_use to the non stop chatter of the two.

As they walked into the run down building, the sight of many people who looked worn out and dirty met him. Just where in the name of hell _where_ they? They had no reason to be in such an un-tasteful place. At least, Albel didn't think they did. But, he knew not a thing of this planet, and even less of this time period of this 'Earth', so maybe he was wrong. Either way, he could not even inform the two of his thoughts. He was mute, and he couldn't stand how it made him feel dumb. He wanted to smash the silence. He didn't want it anymore.

The more he thought of the silence sure to imprison him, he couldn't take it. Before, he was silent because he wanted to be, he took silence over noise because he wanted it be that way. Before, he had a say, but at the present, he had no control over silence. He had no idea how long they would be stuck here either. He felt like a weakling-in this silent place.

(-)-(-)

_Rust, it's fragile on its own, with one wrong move, it can break in an instant._

_Silence, it's delicate too, with one small sound…silence can be broken._

_All either one takes is a small amount of pressure…_

_And a desire for them to be smashed._

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, that's the end of the chapter. At first, this chapter was **so** hard to write, but then I got into it and it started to flow right out. I don't have much to say here, except, that I will update more frequently now and please tell me what you think of it in a review. Take care! _

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	9. Protected from the Rain

_**Chapter Eight: Protected from the Rain**_

_A/N: Hey there everyone! I just want to say thanks for the reviews and here is the next chapter to the fic. I don't have much else to say so…Enjoy!_

(-)-(-)

_Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, SPLAT, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, SPLAT…_ Peppita watched as the rain hit the window she looked out of hard, the pattern of the rain fall switched from heavy to that of a slow drizzle. It was so cold here. Every where she looked she just say the dreary color of gray, and it didn't help that rain now fell too. Thus, she let out a sigh.

Peppita was bored.

Though, that boredom didn't last for very long, as her ears rumbled with the sound of thunder and her eyes shimmered with the flash of lighting. Her heart skipped a beat out of fear and she rushed away from the glass; her body ran over and her arms attached themselves around Albel's arm.

He sat in a chair, which was up against one of the walls, and far enough away from the window. At the moment, all three of them were in a homeless shelter; Sophia had spotted it when they had devoured their ice cream. It was rather tough at first to get any type of story straight, though, it did help that the replication device worked, which allowed Sophia to fabricate papers and other needed information. Though, why the replication device worked, but, the communication device didn't was still a mystery. The best Sophia was able to come up with was that the replication device only needed the internal mechanisms inside to work, while the communication device needed external mechanisms **and** internal mechanisms to work. Overall, the theory seemed plausible.

Anyway, the thunder and lightening still carried on outside the homeless shelter and Peppita could feel the ingrained fear that she had for them rise within her. Her arms still clutched at Albel's clothes, and with each sound of thunder her grip only tightened, and then, the lights flickered…and darkness consumed them. It was at that moment, that Peppita flung her arms completely around his waist and planted the rest of her body firmly in his lap. She was met with multiple pushes and shoves, yet, her hold on him was too tight, and Peppita knew that Albel could not yell any offensive phrase at her, no matter how easily he would oblige to such a notion, it would be pointless.

And, despite the fact that Albel _didn't want_ to protect her, Peppita couldn't help but find a sense of comfort and protection, even though, she had no arms wrapped tight around her small frame. For some reason, Albel was the only male she truly felt safe around. When she was with Fayt, she felt those sisterly instincts and glee, with Cliff-well-she just felt like he deserved more hits over the head than he got, and Adray…he scared her. But, Albel, he did not a single thing to warrant such thoughts or emotions of protection and security, he wasn't nice and he wasn't thoughtful, but, she still had them. So, right then, she wanted to stay right where she was, because she doubted she'd feel any better anywhere else.

In those brief first seconds after the blackout occurred Peppita didn't even give a second thought to Sophia. Until that minute, and so, she felt panic build up within her. Tears sprung to her deep green eyes as she looked up at Albel and said quietly, "Sophia." Peppita was overly worried about her; Sophia had gone to get some food from the cafeteria they had here. The younger girl comprehended that the older female wasn't all that far away, but the thought that Sophia wasn't there, terrified her. The older girl had become a mother figure to Peppita, and it irked her to not have the said mother figure present.

As Peppita glanced at Albel's eyes, which she could only see so well because they were so close and her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she caught a glimpse of his inner aggravation. After all, if he had been capable of tangible speech then he would have said, "You stupid brat, the woman is only a few feet away, so stop your insufferable crying and get over it!" or, at least, it would have been close to that. But, he couldn't, he just couldn't say those things, but he wanted Peppita to stop her tears, which was evident by the glare she could sense on her skin. So, the blonde tried to stop her tears, she really and truly did, but they wouldn't go away, not until she could get reassured that it would all work out in the end.

Right then, those tears that slipped down from her eyelids and onto her flesh, where the release of the built up anxieties of all the events that took place on that one day. She just let it all come out. Which, she was sure, just frustrated Albel more; drip upon drip of the salty liquid trailed down her checks, only to stop when she felt one arm wrap around her. It was Albel! His capable arm was twisted tightly around her waist, it was her support and safety, which was why her emerald orbs (puffy and slightly blood shot) widened and stared at him, and though there was reminisce of tears-no new tears were shed. Eyes still filled with surprise, Peppita tried to see what and _if_ his blood covered irises held any emotions within them. Alas, she couldn't see because of his messy hair, which had started to come undone from its ponytail hold, and his eyes were shifted off to the side. So, even if Albel didn't have all that hair, she wouldn't have known a thing that passed through his mind.

"Sophia."

Peppita stopped her examination of Albel, only to look at him in confusion, he had just said Sophia's name…Why? Peppita had the knowledge that Albel could only say and understand three words, "Sophia, Peppita, and Albel." Other than that though, he was lost, and so where they. In conclusion, the only words that could connect them all when it came to speech were their names. Which, once again, brought Peppita back to the original question, why did Albel just say Sophia's name?

"Sophia, she isn't here right now, remember, she went to get food from the cafeteria." Albel just growled softly and, just because he couldn't make out the words that she spoke, he could detect her tone of voice. It must not have been what he wanted to hear, thus, Peppita was greeted with another proclamation of Sophia's name by Albel.

With confusion etched into her face Peppita finally made out the sound that Albel had only moment's before-footsteps. They must have been Sophia's. But, how could she carry food and walk in the dark at the same time? Of course, with her mind on other subjects, the fifteen-year-old hadn't realized that the generators had kicked in quite a few moments before. But, no of that mattered, nope, not when she heard Sophia say, rather tiredly, "I've got some food for you and Albel."

The mention of their names drew their attention the woman who had, somehow, managed to balance three trays worth of food. Automatically, Peppita jumped from the loosed one-armed embrace of Albel and helped Sophia. She took her own dinner and sat down next to Albel. "Thank you, Sophia!"

Weary eyes scrunched together lightly, as a smile formed on the brunette's face, "You're welcome, Peppita." It was a simple and automatic response, but, Peppita liked that she heard it anyway, and with that, Peppita dug into her food as she watched Albel and Sophia interact.

Peppita listened how Sophia tried to tell Albel that the food was his, "Albel, this tray of food is for you. I realize that it isn't all that much, but we can't expect to get much more or else, at the moment, so, it's eat this-or not eat at all." He didn't get any of what was said, with the exception of his name, but, Sophia nearly had the tray shoved down Albel's mouth as it was, thus, the obvious message was received. Albel took the tray and began to eat; the same with Sophia, as she sat down on the other side of Peppita, who could no longer sense any uneasiness within her.

And so, as they ate, Sophia informed Peppita that the younger girl would have to go to school and that she had to refer to Albel and Sophia as mother or father, mom or dad, or some variation of the general terms used for parents. Peppita just nodded her head; they had to act like they were a family if they were to survive or get anywhere in the era they happened to be trapped in.

Finally, with a full stomach and warm room to rest in, the fact that she was curled up in a hard chair didn't matter; she could feel her eyes as they started to close. With her eyes shut, Peppita felt someone lift her up; her guess was that it had to be Albel, since Sophia didn't have enough strength to carry her weight. And, even as her mind tried to ponder over why Albel would do such a thing, the instant her body came in contact with the cot used to sleep her mind submitted to slumber. So, she didn't know that her form was curled up, with Sophia on one side and Albel on the other; fully protected from the rain that lashed viciously against the earth.

(-)-(-)

Nel couldn't believe it! If it hadn't been for the piece of information that Sophia and Peppita had disappeared, she wouldn't have dreamed to do all of this for Nox. Here they had traveled all the way to the Time Gate, gotten lost on a planet that looked the same in every direction, and come to find out…

"It's not working." The simple statement had been said by Fayt a little while ago, but no one seemed to be able to grasp those words.

"Are you positive?" Nel asked for the umpteenth time, she wanted to set those words in stone.

Fayt nodded his head; blue strands shifted slightly, "I'm 100 positive that the Time Gate isn't working. It wasn't turned on when we got over there and no matter what me, Maria, Mirage, or Cliff tried to do…we got absolutely nothing! Our theory is that, without Sophia here to keep up the connection between the Eternal Sphere and 4-D Space, the Time Gate simply stopped working."

"Basically, what this all means is that we have to find an alternate route or way of contacting 4-D Space, or more specifically, Blair." Mirage's voice was drained as she spoke those words, because, with all their logic and all their knowledge, no one had any idea of what to do next.

To simply put it…they were screwed.

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Another chapter completed and nothing has really been resolved, but, don't worry, I have the plot all outlined in a notebook, so, while you guys may not know where this is going, I do. Which, I consider, to always be a good thing. : ) Anyway, please tell me what you think of it in a review and take care, ja ne: D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	10. New Skin

_**Chapter Nine: New Skin**_

_A/N: Hello everyone and I'm **extremely** sorry about the long time between updates! Thus, I have decided to give an overall **Thank you** to all my reviewers out there, I want to get this out as soon as possible, so individual reviews are not going to be done. Anyway, I had a little fun with the numbers that I gave to all the characters in this chapter, they weren't just randomly chosen; I had some fun with them. If you have any ideas about them just tell me in a review and I'll explain them all next chapter-a cookie for any person who gets it right. : P Enough of this fooling around and on to the story!_

(-)-(-)

File after file, Blair checked for any disturbances or any bit of information out of place. As she clicked through the large archives, which was a job that was done once a month and could take several days, she happened to notice three strings of numbers that were out of place; three numbers that she recognized:

ALBEL NOX- 31331

SOPHIA ESTEED- 54945

SOUFFLE (PEPPITA) ROSSETTI- 65276

Those three, they were not supposed to be in the 21st century, they hadn't even lived in a time _near_ that era in the Eternal Sphere. Thus, Blair came to the conclusion that it wasn't just a slip up in the computers filing, it was more than that.

The 4-D being let out a sigh, it would seem that she would have to pay the others a visit. It would now be a matter of a few minutes to locate them, and so, Blair put her examination of the Eternal Sphere archives on hiatus and began to divulge into the newest files that pertained to the game. She would have to locate the numbers of the other group members and find out what the files were unable to tell her.

She pinched her nose; the stress slightly overwhelmed her for a second; as if the archive examination wasn't tedious enough. She now had a problem with the system. A system that she was now the controller of, for, with Luther no longer alive, she was in complete control of the game; another heavy sigh later and her fingers began their dance across the keyboard.

(-)-(-)

"Yes, that's right, I'm her step mother. Her father and I got married about a year or so ago, but, you see, he is mute…it makes it extremely hard to find any type of job. So, for the time being we are homeless, though, I plan on moving into a support home. That way I can find a good enough job to get my family and me our own house and have a comfortable life style." Sophia spoke very assuredly, for, she had gone over the small speech in her head all morning.

She could feel the eyes of the principal of the public Middle School, as he took in her rather young appearance and dirtied clothes. She had to save up as much money as she could, thus, she was unable to buy the proper clothes for herself, Peppita, and Albel. They would all just have to make do with the clothes they had on until she found a job with a steady pay.

The principal looked over at the two young females and nodded, "We will accept her into the school. Now, what were your names again?"

"Sophia and Peppita Nox, thank you so much for accepting her." The brown haired woman gave a deep nod of her head and a small smile as a sigh of relief escaped her lips. When it came to their names, the way Sophia saw it, they were so far in the past it wouldn't matter if they used their real names or not, no one would be alive when they were born.

The principal just gave a smile, "I'm just making sure that when you go to the store to pick up Peppita's school uniform the expenses get billed to the school. You can pay the school back once you have found a job and are able to live comfortably. Also, Peppita will be given free lunch to help with your financial problems, as well. How does that sound?"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much, you don't understand how much this means to us. Thank you." Sophia smiled a true smile for the first time since they ended up in this era. Maybe things would start to look up from now on.

(-)-(-)

Everywhere they went the same resolution was found-they couldn't enter into 4-D Space. Why? Mirage didn't know why, but she found this answer unnerved her greatly. In fact, she noticed how the disappearance had some affect on everyone. Though, it seemed that Fayt was hit the hardest, and the obvious message of "you never know what you have until it's gone" still hadn't made its way into his mind.

Mirage just sighed. At the moment they were on Elicoor II and they were camped out in front of the Firewall. Nevertheless, she had the assumption that no matter how long they stayed here, the Firewall or anything else that could possibly link them to 4-D Space in any way, would not work for them. For now, she would just have to settle with how she could give Fayt some comfort.

After all, he couldn't even manage a ghostly upward turn of his lips at the antics of Nel and Cliff (whom she seemed to suspect had a little more than friendship in their interactions) nor Adray (whom was humorous all on his own without the purpose to be so).

"Hey, why so glum, just because we can't find a way into 4-D Space at the moment doesn't mean we never will. So, why don't you cheer up?" The last part, though it was a question, was said more in a way to suggest he apply to the demand, so to speak. Mirage slipped down next to him as he sat upon the cold, stone floor. His back was rested upon the wall, which was similar in appearance to the floor, green eyes were downcast and his knees were both bent close to his chest, and his arms rested upon each knee loosely so his they hung downward.

Another sigh was released from Mirage's lips and she felt a small bit of frustration build within her, yet, she quickly distinguished it before it could become any bigger. Anger and frustration wouldn't help anything; those emotions would just make the situation they were all stuck in worse.

With her mind set, Mirage awaited Fayt's answer, "They-how close were they-Albel and Sophia, I mean?"

Her eyes held no surprise by the question asked; she figured that was what had been on his mind this whole time, the uncertainty of one's heart was never a fun road to travel down. Either way, she could not lie to him, "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure just _how_ close they were, but from what I had been able to see-they were pretty close. I guess you could say they were as close as friends, but…"

"They were already starting to tread across that line weren't they?" She knew that her silence would only confirm the answer he was already aware of. "Through those talks Albel was able to get closer to Sophia than I ever could…It's not fair."

"I won't deny that he got closer to Sophia, but I can say one thing-you will always know Sophia the best out of all of us. You saw the experiences that built her into the person she is, so, even if Sophia and Albel do cross that line, you never have to worry about Sophia forgetting about you-or Albel knowing more about her than you do. In the end, there will always be a part of Sophia that only Albel knows and a part of Sophia that only you know." Mirage couldn't help but wonder if she had really helped Fayt or just confused him more, but, it was the only advice she could offer. He would just have to deal with it.

Then, as Mirage started to get up, she felt someone grab her hand-it was Fayt. He had his hand wrapped around hers and his eyes seemed brighter, if only a little, then they had been before, "Thank you." A shadow of a grin slipped across his face, which she then matched.

"You're welcome."

(-)-(-)

"Come _on_!" Sophia felt aspiration get hinted at in her voice as she tried to get the younger girl into the store.

Yet, said girl just stood her ground, "I don't _want_ to wear a school uniform!" Her light colored eyes set in determination.

"But you _need_ one in order to go to school!" Sophia argued back as stress began to overcome her body.

"Why do I even need to go to school? After all, according to the level of knowledge in this era, I should be in a university _not_ a first year in _Middle_ School." Her rosy checks puffed out in indignation.

"I—Peppita, we don't know how long we may be here for, so, please, just try and make the best of whatever we can get our hands on. I had to say you were younger so the story I made for us could fit. Okay?" Sophia's voice was so soft the younger female almost didn't hear her. Despite all that Peppita caught the words as they were guided by the wind and the set rebellion in her eyes left.

"I'm sorry Sophia, I'll behave." The childish voice was filled with a slight tint of guilt.

Sophia's hand was brought upward as her fingers messaged her forehead, which pounded due to the overload of the whole situation. "That's okay; actually, I'm glad that you're behaving normal. It makes me feel like there is a least _one_thing that isn't changing full circle around me. Now, come on." Her light pigmented hand reached out for the darker skinned girl's to take; Peppita grasped the said hand in hers as they made their way into the tiny shop.

(-)-(-)

Ah! There they were she had found them. A group of numbers she was quite familiar with shone back at her from the illuminated computer screen:

FAYT LEINGOD- 55119

NEL ZELPHER- 58467

MARAIA TRAYDOR- 62876

CLIFF FITTIR- 64191

MIRAGE KOAS- 44845

ADRAY LASBARD- 43725

They were on Elicoor and in the ancient ruins that held the entrance to the firewall; she would have to leave immediately. After all, she had no idea how long they would be there for, so there was no time to waste…

After a few moments passed by, and she typed in a few calculations, Blair found herself in the Eternal Sphere and found the six individuals whom she knew quite well. And, those six faces looked expectedly at her. Each black pupil etched with worry and hope, yet, her words would be unable to wash away either. In all actuality, she would most likely only increase the worry and prolong the hope. She hated it when she had to give out bad news, after all, it just never seemed to suit her-she much preferred to be an optimist.

"Blair." Her name was stated simply by Maria. The blue haired female walked up to her, each step was strong and precise, as was expected from her. "Have you been informed on the event surrounding Albel, Peppita, and Sophia?"

By now the azure eyed woman stood in front of her. "Well, while I have not been _informed_ of the events surrounding those three. I did find something rather odd when I was checking the archives today. It seemed that they have ended up in the 21st century. As impossible as that may be to believe, it can only be true."

And, just as she had anticipated, the others held looks of confusion upon their faces. "What do ya mean archives and do ya have any ideas about how those three got there, in that era, I mean?" Cliff's deep voice asked.

"I figured you would question me about the archives. You all know what an archive is; a collection of past events, a good example would be what you call a website. On these websites they may have archives of old news or pictures or something of that nature. Therefore, we have an archive of every era in the Eternal Sphere, and these archives need to be checked monthly. These checks normally take a few days to a week or more depending on how smoothly everything goes…In this case I found the problem of three individuals not in their appropriate time." Here she stopped for a moment or so, in order to let the information sink in and be processed; she could see their discomfort at the mentioning of the Eternal Sphere. She could understand how they probably didn't like to be reminded that they were just some game…then again she knew first hand that they were so much more than that.

Thus, she continued on, "I'm not quite sure how I can get them back to the time period that they belong in. I might be able to make some hypothesis if I had a little information on how they ended up where, or more officially, when they did."

It was at this point that Fayt came forward, "Peppita was checking out this book at the museum when they disappeared." He handed her the old Disney book _Beauty and the Beast_.

Blair's eyes widened as her irises caught sight of the children's book. The expression of shock was soon replaced with a slight frown. "I should have known."

"Should have known what?" Asked Nel, her voice held a tint of ice to it.

"Most of you here have heard of the, now, ancient _Grimm Fairytales_. I was the one who made the suggestion to Luther to have them created in the first place. Since you know that at one point in time I began to see the Eternal Sphere as an alternate universe, rather than, a game in which we were gods. I thought it would be helpful to teach this other world of our past mistakes. Thus, the creation of these things known as fairytales; they were meant to teach morals-some positive and some negative-but morals all the same."

"At first, these "fairytales" started off in their unedited versions, yet at a certain part in this world's history people began to become rather conservative. Each tale was watered down and made acceptable for young children. That's were Disney comes in, they made multiple movies, which were then turned into children's picture books and such, yet the morals still remained. Since the material held in each page is connected in some way to my world, Sophia's connection gene reacted upon it; yet, these books had been produced in your world and not mine. It is because of this that the gene connected those three to the time in which this version of the book was formed instead of 4-D Space."

A pregnant silence was met with the large dosage of information just received. And so, no one talked for a long while, all just became lost in their own thoughts about the theory that had just been announced. Nevertheless, the silence _was_ broken, by none other than Fayt, "So, basically, what you are telling us is that in order for Sophia, Albel, and Peppita to come back they need to find _that_ book in _that_ time era."

Blair nodded her head, "Yes, if they find that book it should connect to the one in this time era and bring them back. I wish I could help, but I can't. Archive files are locked and are forbidden to be touched, after all, if I were to tap in or mess around with the archive files it would be consider time travel in the Eternal Sphere. Time travel is never a good thing; a major event could be changed or never even occur, thus, I'm helpless to help and so are you all it would seem."

The news she had just delivered had been the farthest from what one could ever consider "good news", but it had to be done, even if it tore at her heart to see the venerability in their colorful orbs-all at a lost at what to do. None of them had ever had to face the enemy known as time-none of them had ever sat and waited-none of them had ever had to rely on fate…Until that horrid day.

That terrible day when they realized that they may never see their friends again…

(-)-(-)

He watched as Sophia began to act like a child and listened as he let out a 'humph'. All the same, he couldn't help but be relived to see some form of a shine in her eyes. It made her appear to be alive again…normal…as if she were her old self; for the past few days she held too much stress and concern in herself. He wanted to tell her to stop each time she fretted over one thing or another, but he was unable to. It was a factor that he had begun to get use to now; he could no longer get mad at something that was pointless.

One day though-one day-he **would** understand their language, and one day he would be able to speak it. And when he did, the first thing he would tell her would be to "shut up", then he would tell her to, "calm down". Yes, that was what he would do, one day very soon. As it was they had only been here for a few brief days, yet, he could already make out and comprehend a few more words other than just names.

And that was a brilliant start.

Anyway, if Albel had been able to understand the conversation between the two individuals, then he would have realized that they were in a vivid conversation about Peppita's "first" day of school:

"Oh! I'm so excited! It's your first day of school-it makes me feel like a mother watching her child off for the first time. I'm so glad that we were able to get one of these support houses, now we don't have to worry about disturbing anyone."

"Will you shut up, Sophia, and stop bugging me?"

"But, well, it's your fist day of school! Oh, and it's in a completely different era, it's such a unique opportunity."

"This isn't my 'first' day of school though! I'll have you know that that was when I went off to kindergarten."

And thus, they continued to blabber on and on and Albel had not a clue on the events that took place around him. It was horrid, the fact that he was unable to comprehend the words and languages spoken and written around him, made him feel even more like an outsider than he already was. To put it bluntly-Albel couldn't take it anymore. That anger that he had thought had been driven away by defeat came back full force. He wanted badly to punch something-anything. He was deterred away from such a thought by a sharp gasp from Sophia.

"Albel," he heard his name escape from her lips and turned his head in her direction. She started to speak again he was able to pick a few words here and there; from what he was able to gather, she wanted him to come with her and Peppita.

Thus, Albel got up and walked over to the door, Peppita latched her hand in his good one. Albel didn't even notice.

(-)-(-)

Back and forth, back and forth, Peppita swung her legs beneath the desk. Boredom had taken over her mind the moment she had stepped into the classroom. It wasn't her fault that she knew all of the information that was spoken by her teachers and it wasn't her fault that all of her teachers were so plain. It was like they were robots all programmed to be the same, or maybe, like they were cardboard cut outs. She didn't know the answer nor did she truly care, yet, her mind had no other thoughts to muse over.

Soon Peppita got tired of the thought of school and turned her attention on Sophia and Albel. She noticed how Albel seemed to be able to pick up on certain words now, other than names, and it really didn't surprise her. After all, Albel was an extremely intelligent man, he understood things rather quickly; by the end of their journey last year he was even able to grasp some of the technologically advanced subjects. Though, she figured it was a minimum amount of comprehension. In the end, what her mind wanted to get at was that Albel would soon know enough about the Japanese language that he would be able to speak it. And Peppita liked that particular thought; she missed their banter and his sharp and cold voice.

She then shifted her mind to ponder upon Sophia. At the moment Sophia was at an interview. From what Peppita was able to remember, Sophia went for a maid job, it seemed to fit her. The older girl had told Peppita that she would be the one to work, even when or if, Albel learned the Japanese dialect around him. She spoke of how he knew too little of this world to work in it, and that he would have to take care of her Peppita when she was at work. The younger girl had only nodded. It made sense.

The young blond chanced a glance at the clock as it ticked away and found that the bell was about to ring any second. She readied her bag, honed in on the teacher just in case the teacher mentioned homework (which they didn't), and off the bell went. And, just before she practically flung herself out the door, she got up and bowed to the teacher as she was instructed to by the class officer.

Her long legs pounded against the plain colored floor as she fled down the stairs and through the hallways. In a matter of minutes she reached the front doors and pushed them open, her eyes immediately fell upon one person-Albel.

That was right, she had nearly forgotten that Albel was to pick her up or, at least, that was what Sophia had hoped she had gotten across to Albel only hours earlier. The reason Sophia had wanted Albel to come with the two of them was so that Albel would be able to know where it was that Peppita went to school. Then, through some odd form of sign language and other body motions, Sophia tried to get the idea across to Albel to pick Peppita up when school let out. That was another thing; Albel seemed to understand how time worked here, which was a great advantage. Anyway, the older females attempt to communicate with Albel had not been in vain, which could only be considered a good sign.

"Peppita," she heard him say her name and rushed over to him. Then she grabbed her hand in his and they walked back to their 'home'.

(-)-(-)

Soon enough a week had passed since Sophia had first went for that job and she was glad that she was able to get it. She didn't mind the work she got, maid work was work that she _liked_ to do. Nevertheless, at first she had her worries. She was concerned that Albel and Peppita wouldn't adjust quite as well as she had, but both of them had. Once she got her first paycheck they bought some food and clothes and life began to become more comfortable. With their second paycheck Albel bought some books such as _How to Learn Japanese_.

Peppita on the other hand had great grades in school and had even made friends. Friends whom had come over, friends that she had to act like Peppita's mother around, friends that knew of Albel and Sophia as simply 'Peppita's mother and father'. It was quite an odd contemplation.

Yet, on this day, Peppita came home and her face was not quite as jubilant as it usually was. Instead, it held concern.

"What's the matter, Pep?" Sophia had started to call the adolescent teenager that a few days ago because Peppita was a long name and tongues grew weak when they spoke long names all the time; long names, all of which, just screamed for nicknames.

She just shook her head at the question. She began to walk away. Sophia watched with confusion as Peppita passed the couch, yet, she didn't get very far, for Albel had reached out with his good arm and his hand had curled around her petite arm. The dark-skinned female glanced at Albel, his hair was loosely tied back and simple blue jeans covered his legs and a tight black shirt hugged his upper body. In his lap was laid out a book. She could only assume that it was a book on the language that surrounded him. His blood dyed eyes pierced her spray painted green ones; a stare that spoke volumes-he wanted her to answer the question.

"Fine, I'll answer the stupid question." Her voice held a childish tone to it, almost like a kid who was being scolded by their parents, "Since I grew up in the troupe, I remember always moving, always being on the go, and I also learned the popular languages of Earth-Japanese being one of them. We learned these languages for performance purposes; communication devices are still expensive, so not everyone who comes to our shows has them. Like I was saying, I was always moving and changing-going from place to place. And, each time, I had to put on a new skin…" Here Peppita paused and looked at both Albel and Peppita straight on.

She then continued with, "But, I've never been this afraid of new skin before…"

Sophia could only, silently, agree.

(-)-(-)

A/N: _That's the end of this chapter. I made it longer as a form of apology for taking so long to update. Real life came into the picture and writing came after it. Anyway, I'll be through with school on Tuesday, so, with summer break on the way, and multiple ideas floating around in my head thanks to some Alphia pictures, the next update won't take as long as this one did. I hope everyone enjoyed it and please tell me what you think of it in a review. : ) Take care everyone and ja ne!_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	11. When Silence is No Longer Golden

_**Chapter Ten: When Silence is No Longer Golden**_

_A/N: Hey there everyone, I don't have that much to say today, though I have a lot to explain when it comes to the numbers. Thanks for the reviews, like usual, and I hope you enjoy. Other than that, I don't have all that much to say, except that the numbers were a form of fortune telling called Arithmancy. _

_Basically, you use a person's name to use this bit prediction making. Each letter is given a number value and there are three numbers: Character Number (the general personality type based on the number you get), Heart Number (a person's inner life-their desires and fears), and Social Number (their outer personality). It took a lot of time to do, but it was fun and extremely accurate, well, as far as I can tell anyway._

_I could go into a deeper explanation, but I think you all might enjoy getting onto the actual chapter! So, enjoy. : ) _

(-)-(-)

After two weeks Albel was finally able to understand the language that surrounded him. Yet, he wanted his first _true_ words in this world to be meaningful, not just some common statement, not even his aforementioned "shut up". His first words in this era had to be of some kind of value. He had to make sure he gained his own worth here. At the moment, though, he was stuck outside-in the rain-as he waited for Peppita to get out of school.

He had known, for awhile now, that most people saw him as Peppita's "father", he wasn't thrilled with the idea…but, he wasn't opposed it either, Albel _knew_ that this was the most efficient and logical guise to go under. And, well, a family…eyelids lowered over blood soaked orbs, he hated to admit, even to himself, that he had longed for a family-ever since his father died.

With Sophia and Peppita he could find that family. Yet, he felt himself let out a growl; he wasn't supposed to muse over such things. He was Albel the _Wicked_! No matter how hard he tried though, such a thought was unable to leave his mind. He let out a sigh of frustration.

This flow of unspoken words was cut off by hands, which slipped over his eyelids, and an enthusiastic voice, "Guess who?" The said person let out a short and soft giggle, and Albel had to wonder if the young girl behind him even remembered that he "couldn't understand" a word she said.

Albel sighed again.

Yet, this sigh had no particular reason, unlike the one before, this one just came out. But, maybe, one could say that it was an annoyed sigh, either way Albel found that he shouldn't ponder over something so trivial. "Sophia." That was all he had to say, he could have spoken more, yet he had already came to the conclusion of the importance of his first _true_ words.

He turned around, once her pale hands lifted, and saw her before him. An umbrella was on the ground, he figured she must have let it drop in order to cover his eyes, and her light brown hair stuck to her face. The rain still poured down heavily, thus water droplets dripped from the ends of each darkened strand. There she stood in her maid uniform; a smile was on her face.

Green eyes snapped out of their trance-like state, which, in turn, made ruby red eyes do the same. Quickly Sophia snatched up the umbrella and stood beside Albel. Her arm was stretched upward and her feet were on their tippy-toes, he soon realized that this was her attempt to keep him covered from the rain. He almost saw no point in this, since he was already soaked to the bone…Almost…

He took the umbrella from her hand and held it, this way it covered them both, he let out a chuckle of amusement. She just looked at him with feigned anger, pouted, turned her head, and then giggled. Albel could feel the rotation of his eyes as they rolled in their sockets. She could be so childish at times.

Her hand covered his, which held onto the handle of the umbrella. Albel just looked down at their melded hands, fingers intertwined, and the words, _"But then, she can be so caring and mature,"_ flittered through his head. At first the fact that she tried to look after him didn't bode well with him, then he learned to accept it, he was pretty much helpless in this world as it was-or he had been-and he found out that he wanted to be taken care of. Somehow, over the past couple of weeks Albel started to realize things he never knew about himself before. He also found that his mind tended to freeze on Sophia; like it was at the moment.

"Albel, Sophia, you're both here today! Yay!" Peppita ran up to them. Her dark red skirt fluttered and her beige short-sleeved blouse was splattered with wet spots due to the rain. Her hair was set in a style that she liked to call "pig buns". Basically, her hair was set like pigtails, yet instead of her blonde strands of hair being let loose they were curled up into two buns, one on either side of her head. Peppita rushed through a rather deep puddle of water, but didn't seem bothered by it at all, in fact, she had a large grin on her face as she caught Albel's other hand, his slightly burned hand, in her own.

Trust, that was another factor that Sophia gave him; she took care of him and trusted him. No one had ever trusted him-not his father, not Woltar, not even the king. The only one, in his past, who had ever given him the chance at trust, had been his mother. Yet, she died when he was still very young, but now he had two people who trusted him. Sophia and Peppita, both females trusted that he would protect them, not even the blue haired fool-Fayt-had given him that much. Fayt just respected him, and he respected him back. It was no more and no less than that.

By now Sophia had released her hold on Albel's hand and just stood next to him. He looked down at her and saw how she leaned her head up against his shoulder, though this was only slightly, it was as if she feared he would lash at her. Which, he admitted to himself, was the assumption most (he included) would come to, but he just let her stay that way. And, as he found this to be the answer to most of his questions lately, he didn't know why.

(-)-(-)

The water droplets pelted off of the umbrella that Albel now held securely over her head, which she had leaned up against him, and she felt her eyelids drupe shut. If this had been two weeks ago, she knew that Albel would have pushed her off by now, yet here she was, so close to him, yet not in harms way at all. She trusted him, just like Peppita did. They knew he would protect them, no matter if he liked them or not, if he found it his responsibility or duty to do so, then he would. That was just how he was.

At the moment though, the sound of the continuous rain started to grate on her nerves, thus she spoke up, "You know something. Our history books back home never mentioned just how abnormally obsessed Japanese people were with maids-and maid outfits-during this time era. It's rather creepy. Actually, this era's Japan seems a whole lot different compared to the one back home. In this time tradition is still kept up and Tokyo just seems to be much more Japanese-like. Compared to the Tokyo, Japan at home, which happens to be much more-oh, I don't know, Americanized-and extremely less traditional." She knew that she had started to rant, and that Albel couldn't understand a word she had just spoken, but she would rather hear her own voice than the sound of fallen water and silence.

She desperately wished that Albel could speak. She wanted to truly hear his voice again, even if, whenever he opened his mouth the wrong words always seemed to spill out. She could only hope that he picked up the language soon, and well enough to hold and understand a conversation. She looked over at him and couldn't help but think that his arm must have been tired, after all, when one has to hold up an umbrella for any long length of time it tended to make their arm hurt a little.

"If you want, I can hold it for you, just for a little while anyway." Her voice was soft and Albel glanced down at her, though, she noticed that his face seemed abnormally blank. She hated how he could be so hard to read at times, yet, she also found that fact intrigued her and that it made her think about him constantly. It made her want to take care of him and ring out some kind of reaction-some form of emotion other than anger and annoyance-and, for the most part, it worked. He was more open than he had ever been before. She wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't realized this yet-no-that would be just like him.

He slackened his hold on the object, at which point Sophia took it into her hands, and all was well for a few minutes. Her arms seriously hurt her, for she strained to keep the height in order to cover Albel's head and also walk at the same time, but the major problem came with a gust of wind. Such a breeze was rather uncommon, but not unheard of, in a city. What, with cities skyscrapers that usually blocked such violent tendencies of the air, thus Sophia let out a gasp of surprise. The umbrella was whipped viciously from her grasp and began to trail backward down the sidewalk. At which point, the bright eyed female made a dash for it.

She heard Albel let out a small 'humph' and Peppita shout, "You get that umbrella, Sophia!" She could already picture the younger girl, excited and full of glee as the words passed her lips. By now Sophia had a hold on the object and Peppita and Albel had started to slowly walk again. She let a tiny 'huff' and then began to catch up to them. That was, until she felt a hand on her wrist, and with a rugged tug she was flung around…Only to come face to face with a haggard man.

Sophia froze. She wanted to scream, to do **something**, but she could only stare in horror as the man grabbed her wrist; umbrella fallen and forgotten. Two other men came up behind her, only to shove her into an alleyway, out of the public's view. Nevertheless, she heard Albel's voice scream her name, and could hear as his feet splashed through the stagnant water on the ground below.

The men, she couldn't even bear to look at their retched faces, as their hands began to roam her body. She felt pathetic as one of them trailed their fingers up her legs and to her thighs and the others made vulgar comments. She wanted to fight them off, she _could_fight them off, after all, she had defeated _god_. But, this moment…it brought back _those_ memories…it brought back what happened….what _they_ did to her….

"Albel," the name slipped from her lips without any thought process behind it at all, "help me Albel, please, help me!" The words were spoken softly, yet evenly. She knew he would protect her. She trusted that he would-trusted him.

The man's hand drew closer to an area she absolutely did **not** want him to touch! Thus, he mind started to work again, "Let me go!" Her voice was the coldest she had ever heard it, and for a second couldn't even believe that she had spoken in such a way. And, though her hands were held behind her back, her legs were free. With a swift kick the man's hand stopped its exploration.

"You feisty little bitch!" She stepped back farther at the male's growled words, her arms worked vividly to be set free. "Where are you going? We haven't gotten our perks with you, yet."

Her eyes continued to stare the man down she wasn't afraid…she was terrified, but she would never show that, never!

"_I've changed! I…I don't know what came over me, but, I'm not pathetic…I'm not! I won't…won't be pushed away from you again!"_

_**That's right, she wasn't pathetic anymore!**_

With this mind set she whipped her arms out of the arm-lock they were in. Her body was prepared to take them on; to tear them apart. Yet, the flash of red stopped any movement she once had.

…_Such a deep, dark red; crimson; blood…_

(-)-(-)

Amusement highlighted his eyes, made them seem less like cold rubies. The shout of Peppita only added to this happy-like state he was in. It was still rather odd for him to feel such a way, after all, in the past he only felt happy when he killed something. When the thick liquid that made others hearts beat gushed onto his hands; such a thing enticed him. That was what used to give him strength; worth. He found that…

_He didn't need that anymore…_

He listened to the two females behind him, only to come to the realization that it was much too quiet. A quick turn around showed him Peppita, but no sign of Sophia, until, "Albel help me Albel, please, help me!" The desperate plea in her voice told him that whatever predicament she found herself in, it was more serious than a runaway umbrella or something of the sort.

Her words came from the alleyway not far behind him and Peppita. With her location known Albel began to run towards the said spot, only to be stopped by the blonde's hand. Her dark skinned hands grasped the back of his shirt, "Don't leave me alone, Albel. Please!"

Another sigh filtered through his tightly pulled lips, a tired one at that. He felt his eyes soften, such an act didn't make him flinch inside like it used to, and he realized that these two females had started to heal the emotional scars he carried around for so long. He changed and continued to do so, yet, he was still Albel and it was that reason alone that made it so he kept thoughts such as these to himself.

He turned back around to look at her, and with the thought that he didn't have that much time, bent down and gave Peppita a look that he wanted her to follow and to stay behind him. If he wanted to, he could have told her such through words, but he found himself with the hope that his first words would be directed toward Sophia. He grasped her hand in his usually clawed one and rushed over to where he could hear Sophia and whispers of his name.

She called out for him and **not** Fayt. It surprised him for a moment when this truth came to light in his mind, but he pushed it aside to deal with the problem at hand. He felt his blood boil and his red orbs burned with a fire of hatred. No one could touch her like that-in such a filthy way. No one…

His eyes held a dangerous tint to them and the enjoyment of death started to enter him again. He wouldn't mind if those "men", if they could even be called such, with their excited eyes were soon turned into lifeless corpses. The mental image made him get that blood-thirsty grin that he had always gotten in battle. He wouldn't pass up such entertainment.

At that second he wasn't on Earth. He wasn't in the busy city of Tokyo, Japan, no, he was on Elicoor II in the destruction of war. Yet, that hallucination quickly faded as he went to reach for his sword and found air, when he went to lift up his infamous claw only to find the small fingers Peppita wrapped tightly around his own. At which point he let go of. His senses were harshly slapped back into him-he _couldn't_ mercilessly kill these pieces of filth, he remembered that was one of the reasons why Sophia had taken away his katana and claw. Death on this…planet…and in this time didn't equal survival like it did on Elicoor II. It meant a crime, punishment, and…a sin.

Then "_she's seen enough death,"_ entered into his mind. His breaths came in deep gulps; his blood-lust was gone. Driven out by other factors; nevertheless, he wanted to give them some form of pain for what they had down to his Sophia. And, had the situation not been so dire, he probably would have been slightly worried at that thought of Sophia being his.

A cold but efficient look at the three men in front of him told him that the one that had his hands all over her had a knife in his back pocket. Why it was there, Albel didn't care, but he made to grab it, only to watch as Sophia kicked the man off of her.

"_I hadn't thought-you were pathetic."_

His own words came back to him, almost haunted him, she had gotten stronger that was right. He wanted to protect her; after all, she cared for him and trusted him. But, did she want, or even need, his protection in the first place? He glanced back at the scene and after that kick her eyes seemed to have become lost. He found his answer: she did need and want the protection he provided. Thus, he would give it to her.

As he snuck up behind the man, he didn't want to be seen by any of them, which had been only a slight problem. He had always been able to slip into the shadows even when there were none. With his full concentration on the knife he hadn't even noticed as Sophia freed herself, but he did notice his chance and acted upon it. He snatched up the object and lashed it outward. A twisted and sick form of satisfaction was met when the man, whom seemed to be the leader of this little group, arm was cut clean off. The scream of pain echoed through the narrow and darkly light passage.

By now they were all aware of his presence, Sophia included. "W-who is th-this lunatic?" One of the other men questioned, plain colored eyes wide in fear, which was the mirrored image on the other man's face, while their "leader" crouched closely to the cemented ground and held what was left of his arm, in utmost pain, as the blood gushed out.

Albel gave no spoken answer to the quarry, he just kept his eyes trained on them; orbs that matched the blood now in a puddle on the water heavy ground, and let his tongue slide out of his mouth and onto the cold metal blade. With a flick, his once pink tongue was now painted crimson. Screams were emitted from the three men once again and they took off, detached arm and all.

No matter of the event that just took place under the sky, it continued to cry, and Albel and Sophia continued to stare at one another. Not fazed by the large water droplets that started to wash away the blood that splattered them both. Neither noticed how each pair of eyes, one pure green and the other tainted an eerie red, had tears crawl down from them.

(-)-(-)

Two weeks; that was how long the three had been gone for so far. Fayt couldn't stand the thought of what may or may not have happened to them. He wondered how they adjusted and longed to help bring them home. The only thing that they were able to do for their friends was wait patiently (or in some cases not so patiently) for their return. It killed him inside.

Blair tried to help, but she couldn't do anything of true importance. Though, they were all thankful for the bit of information she had provided them with on Elicoor II, at which point they all headed back to Earth. Over the past two weeks Blair had been able to give them updates on the well being of the three individuals, but it did little to calm his fears of what did or still could happen to them. Two weeks was a long time after all-

Two weeks!

Dark green eyes that were once shut lightly snapped wide open. How could he have forgotten! Sophia's parents and his mother were to come back from their vacation either today or tomorrow, by now the reunion was supposed to be over and everything was meant to go back to normal. He'd have to tell the others about this, after all, he didn't think he could tell Sophia's parents the truth, not alone anyway.

Good luck seemed to have avoided them over these two weeks and Fayt began to wonder if it would ever come back around.

(-)-(-)

Night settled over the world as two individuals sat in what many would call a master bedroom. Both dressed in night ware and ready for sleep or, at least, that was the obvious thought. In actuality, neither felt the lull of sleep upon their eyelids yet. In fact, both were wide awake, both minds mulled over the same event. The tension hung around them, though; it was only as thick as easily broken glass. And Sophia was the first to make a crack form on it.

"I'm sorry. Sorry that I wasn't braver, stronger, that you had to protect me. I-" Her head was bent downward, as if she were unable to look at Albel, as if she were ashamed. Yet, Albel didn't know why that would be so, she had not a thing to be sorry about and she didn't have to get stronger. And, then he knew, this was his moment. This was the time when the silence finally needed to be broken.

"You're not pathetic and you have nothing to apologize for. Such dishonorable men sicken me, I promise, I'll protect you from dirt like them." There, his first true words, words that held value and meant something. His tone was soft when he spoke, those who didn't know him would say that he didn't care, but those that _did_ know him could effortlessly feel the bit of warmth amongst all the iciness.

Her head snapped upward like a swish of a sword and her childish eyes were wider than he had ever seen them. "You-how-spoke-but…for how long?"

Albel let himself laugh slightly at her nearly incoherent sentence; a ghost of a smile on his features, "For quite a while now."

Whatever had made her scared and nervous disappeared as she let out an angered, "Oh!" And then continued, in the same angry tone, "Albel, how could you? You've been fooling around with me for a while now, you big jerk! I bet you've had a few silent laughs at all the stupid things I've done over the past two weeks to make sure I got my words across to you, how cruel!" A pout was on her face once again, and Albel couldn't stop the muse of how cute she looked just then.

Amusement was lit in his eyes again, "While that's all good and true; what was it that you were going to tell me?"

The half true-half fake irritation left her face within the instant. A deep melancholy look in its place, "The event from earlier today, it made me think back to something that happened before, when I was prisoner to the Vendeeni. I was-well-they…they…" She trailed off an Albel knew exactly what it was that those white alien creatures had done to her. Now he wished that he had never gotten hit by that stupid beam of light, if he hadn't he would have been able to get a few slices onto that creep-he might have even killed it.

"It was awful," she made her way over to the bed and slumped down onto it, "I didn't want to be touched like that. Not in that way, and not by them, I didn't. It made me feel so dirty and contaminated. I was tainted now, no longer pure, I was sure that my blood would look darker if it touched the air. I hated myself." Painful tears slid down her pale cheeks and Albel sat beside her now on the bed.

"How could you hate yourself? What happened was against you're will, you should have hated those Vendeeni-or whatever the hell they were called-you tried to protect yourself and that's all that matters." Albel tried to calm her down, for once he tried to take care of the one who had taken care of him, he trusted her and he wanted a way to show her this.

She turned away from him and whispered, "You tried too Albel, what happened to your father was against your will too, but you still hate yourself-just like I do." It was his turn to be shocked. For so long he had worked so hard to justify his hate for himself, but with just one sentence that whole sense of logic just fell apart right around him. The unasked question of just how much happier he could be if he didn't hate himself and just how much happier she could be if she didn't hate herself longed for an answer.

An Albel wanted to find it.

So, for that one precious moment, Albel locked away that self hatred and brought his arms out. Those lanky, but strong arms turned Sophia around so that they faced one another. He heard her let out a small gasp and wondered briefly if his eyes held emotions in them. It didn't matter though, and he spoke gently, or as gently as he could, "Didn't I just promise that I wouldn't let something like that happen again? You don't have to be strong because I'll protect you." This was the first time he ever made a promise and he had almost forgotten what it felt like to let emotions control you.

For, without his self hate, he had nothing to completely and utterly hate. He didn't have the need to hide behind a sheet of dry ice. Emotions now had total control over his actions right then and so, he hadn't planned it, but he brought his lips closer. His arms wrapped around her, he noted the deep blush on her features, could feel a slight one on his own. The sheets of the bed bunched up only so as he drew himself closer to her, watched her eyes flutter shut, only to see the darkness of his eyelids as they closed over his own seconds later.

_Their lips met…_

_Tender and sweet…_

_Tears continued to flow…_

_Melded together…_

As Albel began to explore every crevice of Sophia's mouth and lips he let his mind flashback to the first kiss they had shared; to the time when his only reason to kiss her was to get her mouth to close shut, but this time…

The kiss did not scream with the words, "Shut up," instead it quietly murmured, "You're mine," which in the words of Albel the Wicked meant, "I love you."

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Well, this chapter took forever to write, and I'm not all too sure why. Quite odd, anyway, it also turned out longer than I had first planned but oh well. I really like how it came out, so, I'm not too bothered by how long it took to write. Please tell me what you thought of it in a review and take care. : D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	12. Pieces of Broken Ember

**_Chapter Eleven: Pieces of Broken Ember_**

_A/N: Hello there everyone! It's been so long since I last updated, but I've just been so busy with starting work, replaying **Kingdom Hearts II**, and multiple other little things. Anyway, I hope that you find this chapter to be okay, and I just want to give out the standard thanks to all of my reviewers, now, onto the story. : )_

(-)-(-)

Two flashes of white-blond hair flashed through the doorway of Albel and Sophia's bedroom. The person to whom the said head of hair belonged to was none other than Peppita. Her hair was done up in two tight pigtails. At first she flung herself into the room, yet, she noticed how they were both still asleep, thus, she ended up tip-toeing into the bedroom. The younger girl leaned her bright face closely to the two but kept her distance so that they were not awoken by her close proximity.

She gasped at the sight of them both asleep. Albel's good hand was tangled with Sophia's and their hair mingled together, long strands of dark and light. Her eyes never forgot the scene as Albel, with his handicapped arm, wrapped the said arm around Sophia's waist and pulled her closer nor did she let her memory slip up on the fact that Sophia cuddled deeper into his clad chest. The child's eyes sparkled and a gigantic smile lit up her entire face.

Peppita was unable to help the reaction-it was just too cute!

Along with the reaction came a conclusion as well:

_She didn't want to go home._

After all, at home she only had the troupe. While she loved them dearly…they could never be what she wanted. They could never be like the family she had in this era. Here she had one person who worried about her and another who protected her. She was so lonely back home. She wanted to stay here, in this place, where (or was it when?) she was able to just have a family…

The sunlight poured into the room and highlighted both faces-one male and one female-yet, they were both so peaceful, more so than any other time Peppita could recall. Thus, she quietly called out their names and shook them only so, for, she wanted them to wake up; nevertheless, she didn't want to shatter the peace that lay over both their faces. And it was because of that reason that Sophia awoke with still glazed over eyes. Not quite sure of where, when, who, or what-just that she was now awake. Yet, that soon changed.

Her large orbs brightened with consciousness and her body flung forward. "Peppita…! Wait, Peppita, what are you doing up? More importantly, what time is it!" Her arms were untangled from Albel's by this point and her hair sat messily upon the top of her head. Sophia was so disoriented and surprised that she ended up on the floor with a rather large gasp.

By that moment and time Albel was awake and Peppita torn her childish eyes away from Sophia to chance a look at him. And when their eyes met, Peppita came to the resolution that, while his silted orbs were still the color of red, they no longer reminded her of blood.

Thus, they had both caught Sophia's rather…less than elegant …display. Peppita let out a burst of laughter while Albel let out a chuckle. "Don't worry about getting Peppita off to school or you going to work. Today, we have to start thinking about getting home instead."

Both females (one from the hard floor and the other from the comfy bed) caught Albel's eyes. "What are you talking about, Albel? We are home." Yet, Albel was able to easily tell (with one swift look) that Sophia didn't even believe what she said, but he could also feel the want for it to be true as well.

"I agree with Sophia, Albel, I like it so much better here…I don't want to go 'home'." Peppita's usually cherry voice was, instead, rather dark and upset. Though there was no hint of surprise in it about Albel's ability to speak, after all, Peppita had suspected his was able to comprehend the words around him for a while now."Why can't we just stay here?"

Peppita kept her light green orbs on Albel's figure. Documented how he reacted to Sophia's words and to her own. And then, she noted that Albel wasn't guarded anymore. She couldn't help but wonder just what had happened last night. Nevertheless, the muse had no point to the spoken conversation at hand.

"Why don't the two of you want to go back? Don't you want to go home?" His voice held only the slightest sense of confusion and his contradictive hair shadowed his windows to the soul like shades.

Two shades of green, one so pale it almost seemed colorless and the other so dark the depths were unable to be plotted, met. The same thought in their heads_, "What's waiting for you at _home_? What do you have there that you need it so desperately?_

Sophia got up from the floor, dusted off her pajama top, and then let her body fall onto the unmade bed. "What do you have back on Elicoor II that you don't have here?" Her voice was extremely soft. It seemed almost non-existent. Albel sat upon the bed, his back to her, and thus, she placed her back against his. She didn't want to see his face; she wanted to believe she would be able to hear his truthful answer. She wanted to hear that voice that had been absent from her life for two whole weeks; wanted to understand that the icy tone of it may have disappeared. After all, when she looked at Albel, she knew it was him, but since he started to speak the native language, it just didn't sound like Albel anymore.

With this answer to her question…Sophia wanted to hear Albel again.

That dry ice tone that was so hard one could touch was mixed in with the answer she received. She heard what she needed to hear, "What don't you have here-that you have at home? Don't you miss that blue haired maggot, Fayt?"

Their backs were turned, neither could see the expression of the other, yet, Peppita could. Saw the hidden pain on Albel's face when Sophia made no immediate response and she saw the easily readable shocked expression on the older females face. A kind of shock that said she had locked the thought of Fayt far away in her mind. Despite all of this Sophia finally spoke in return. Her answer was what neither one expected from her. "Everyone told me that Fayt was so worried about me in the beginning of that epic journey of ours. That when I was missing, he could only think of me and where I was, that he could only worry for my safety…So, how come…." Her voice began to break and her words started to sound choked. Thus, when she paused she quickly moved her back away from Albel's, only to turn around and hug him from behind. Her arms clung to his clad backside, which soon became his front (for Albel had turned around at the sense of her touch); arms now firmly wrapped around her. Her next words were buried, for she said them into his chest, "H-How c-could I, n-n-no, why-why would I w-want to-to go b-b-back there; to a p-place where no c-c-cares?"

By then, Albel could feel her cold tears, felt as they soaked through his shirt. As they wrote out an unspoken and captured torment that Sophia had kept to herself for so long. Each salty droplet of water dissolved into his flesh, became apart of his blood, and circulated through his heart. The future, their home, only brought her pain, just like it did for him. So, did that mean that it only brought Peppita pain? If that was the case, then…

"I don't want to go back either." Sophia hadn't moved at the statement from Peppita, but her cries had calmed down, which showed that she would listen to what the girl had to say; and Peppita could feel Albel's eyes on her, thus, she knew she had his attention as well.

She took a deep breath and then started her tale, "I can barely remember my mother, her face is so blurred, and I can't even say what she looked like. Don't remember the color of her eyes or whether her hair was curly or straight. I just remember the words that she spoke of-of my father. My father who had to leave us in order to protect us and the whole galaxy; he was, after all, a commodore. But, soon after, my mother became ill and she sent me to my uncle, my father was always in constant danger and so busy…she couldn't leave me with him…no matter how much she may have wanted to."

Peppita took a small breath; her eyes were trained on the blankets and sheets that littered the bed. Unable to give or receive eye contact; almost like she didn't want Sophia and Albel to know that she hurt too, that they all weren't very different at all. It was like Peppita didn't want them to know that she was guarded too…that she hid away her true emotions too. Nevertheless, she continued:

"It was fun to be apart of the troupe, at first, but then, I longed for a true family. I wanted a mother and a father, not a bunch of brothers and sisters and friends. Yet, I stayed true and happy because I longed, also, for the attention. I love the troupe, I know that, but my resolve to have an actual _family_ has only grown since last year…when I met my birth father."

The emotion known as shock made the room grow ever the more silent. Neither adult had thought that Peppita had ever met her father, both had just presumed him to be dead, and that the tale her mother had told had just been a fabrication. "Are you sure that it was your father, Peppita?" Sophia leaned forward slightly, for, through the tale both Albel and Sophia had positioned themselves against the headboard, they sat right next to each other (hands intertwined without a pure thought process), and Peppita sat cross legged in front of them.

"I'm positive that it was my father. His skin was the same tone as mine and he had my matching earring on. One of the few things that I can remember my mother telling me about my father was that he was a brave commodore for the Federation and that he had given me an earring, before he left, to match his own. So, that way, he would never forget me and I wouldn't forget the thought of him out there somewhere…also, they served the purpose of us recognizing each other one day, if we were to ever meet that is."

Sophia looked numb, as if she was unable to comprehend what Peppita spoke of, meanwhile, Albel just sat there and tried to keep his face guarded-he failed. The emotion he displayed was that of deep thought. "Your father, he was that man wasn't he, the one that ended up getting himself killed…protecting that space ship and us; the one who brought us to Styx."

The blonde haired girl nodded her head to show the truth in his statement. "My father was Commodore Wittcomb. We knew who we were the moment we both saw each other, but neither one of us wanted to say anything. We didn't dare."

It was with that spoken string of words that caused Sophia to spring tears in her eyes and leap forward as her arms wrapped themselves around the tiny teenager. "Oh, why didn't you want to say anything to each other? I'm sure both of you longed to speak to one another one day, so, why didn't you when you had the chance?"

Silent tears easily slipped down Peppita's rosy cheeks. "You silly girl, Sophia," here Peppita's voice took on its normal cheerful sound, only to be replaced by a more melancholy one, "if we had been under different circumstances I would've begun to talk to my father right away. But, we were in the middle of something even bigger than a war; we were fighting for our survival against our own creator. We both didn't want to get to know each other because, well, look what happened-he died. I think it was better that I didn't get to know him…it hurt less when I found out he was dead."

Peppita then proceeded to bury her face into Sophia's chest, the comfort of a mother was found in this simple display, as Sophia held her close. The older of the two could not help but think:

_It hurt more than you thought it did._

(-)-(-)

Wine stained eyes were unable to leave the sight before them. The salty flow of tears that mingled together and told of one single story-no one to go home to-Albel could only wonder if his tears (were he to ever shed any) would tell the same. He knew that the tale would be the same. His family was no longer on Elicoor II. Both his parents had died before he had even reached the age of eighteen-he had been alone for so long-but now he didn't have to be. Now he had the chance; the chance for a family.

Would he take the chance given to him…?

_Yes._

Effortlessly Albel wrapped his arms around the two. His handicapped arm only gave off the slightest bit of pain; he could deal with it-for them. He knew that water would have moistened his eyes, if his body remembered how, but it no longer did. He just let the other two cry in his arms. He let them cry for themselves, cry for each other, and shed tears for him-one who no longer could-for his insides would forever be frozen to such extreme amounts of emotion. Finally, the water stopped its flow and the two were calm enough for him to tell them his sorrowful story. Not the story of his father, for they both knew that, but instead, the story of his mother. This one no one knew the truth of except for him, and now Peppita and Sophia would know too.

Thus, he began to speak; he bluntly headed into his story. There was no slow introduction he just started to tell his tale, "In the history of both Airyglyph and Aquaria there has always been small rifts in our companionship; small disputes and disagreements which, of course, led to the war that has only just recently ended a year ago. My parents were the first to be used as a way to try and unite the two kingdoms. Their marriage was pre-arranged since they came of age. My mother was part of the Crimson Blade, she was told to quit her job as a spy, but she never did. Even after I was born she continued to work loyally to Aquaria as my father did for Airyglyph. Others were unsure of where her loyalties laid…she was murdered by those Aquarian scum. Those worms who were unable to place trust in one of their own. For that, I can show them respect for their fighting and symbological skills, but I can never befriend nor accept them, not after what they did to my mother."

His eyes were trained to the ceiling, both females had stopped their tears long before, and both had made their way out of his embrace. "What did your mother look like?" Sophia had a pretty good idea of the physical features of his mother, for she could recall that conversation she tried to have with him back on Earth, right before they left for the museum, but she wanted to make sure. She wanted to find out if he would willingly tell her now, instead of harsh hisses of, "shut up".

Albel gulped, it had been far too long since he thought of his mother, and the image of her was almost too blurred to recall (just like Peppita with her mother). Yet, he could and did recall the features of his mother. "She had long blond hair. I remember how it fell in golden ringlets and her eyes-they always looked like they were weeping." He said no more on the matter, he didn't mention the color of his mother's eyes, nor did he mention the fact that her touch had always been so warm and her comfort had always overwhelmed him.

A pale hand reached out and captured his; it was Sophia's. They glanced at one another for a brief moment and Sophia found the answer to the question. In some roundabout way Albel had given to her the color of his mother's eyes. They were red. Such an odd combination his mother must have been, long and blond hair (a sign of noble, proper, and pure) with red colored eyes (a color always associated with evil). Yet, as Sophia caught Albel's eyes she could only hear his words replay themselves in her head:

…_and her eyes-they always looked like they were weeping…_

Albel's eyes were still dry as could be, not a single droplet in sight, but never before had she seen such eyes that wept.

(-)-(-)

She had opened the files from twenty-first century Earth. For, Blair found it her duty to check up on Albel, Sophia, and Peppita almost daily now, the fact that they had not arrived home yet worried her. And, as she found out on that day, what she feared would happen-had. The files that had belonged to the three had only been temporary files, ones that could be moved once the activation key was found AKA the book _Beauty and the Beast_. But, now, the files had become permanent. So, if they didn't find the book soon…

They would never return home.

What Blair didn't know though was that was the answer all three wanted to hear.

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Another chapter done! I hope you all enjoyed it and please tell me what you think about it in a review. Also, any and all credits will be given in the last chapter, or more specifically, epilogue (Chapter Sixteen). And, I'm happy to say, that I have this story completely planned out. Hopefully my next update won't take as long. Please review and take care! Ja ne. : D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	13. Void

**_Chapter Twelve: Void_**

_A/N: Hello there everyone! Here is the next chapter to FFaF and I hope you all enjoy it. Oh, and by the way, the poem filtered in between isn't about Mirage and Fayt. I just want to say thanks to all of my reviewers. And now, onto the story: )_

(-)-(-)

_That day was spent…_

_Not at school…_

_Not at work…_

His green eyes that once shone so brightly were now dimmed, so much so that they almost didn't even look green, but black. Mirage took notice on how such murky depths reflected his mood; came to the realization that he was headed for a major depression. She let out a sigh, as she saw him curled up on one of the chairs in the Esteed living room, his state of mind only declined after they told the news of Sophia to her parents the other day. Mirage wasn't entirely sure what to do, but she knew she had to comfort Fayt in some way, shape, or form, even if what she needed the most was the same exact thing. She began to walk over to Fayt.

_Contradictions met and blended…_

_Dark ruby and deep emerald…_

_Splashes of morning, midday, and night intertwined…_

Her blond hair swung behind her in a braid as she continued her gait toward the young man. Once she stood in front of the large and comfortable chair, which Fayt was now buried in, the said person glanced up at her. Mirage knelt down so her eyes were level with his and was taken by surprise when his arms shot out and wrapped themselves around her frame. At first, Mirage had no idea what to do, yet she ended up with her arms secure around him as well. Felt as his body began to shake from silent sobs and the tears from his glazed over orbs soaked through her shirt. Finally, after a few good minutes the liquid from his eyes stopped their flow and his body no longer shook. Instead, he looked up at her and a small gasp escaped her lips, for his eyes now held some form of emotion….affection.

_Pale touches of skin…_

_Shadowy trails of kisses…_

_Heated connections of two souls…_

Fayt brought himself closer to Mirage, so close she could feel his breath upon her skin, and then he spoke in a soft whisper, "I can feel it, whenever I think of Sophia, I feel this…this…" Yet, whatever it was he felt Mirage never knew, for she felt his lips come in contact with her own. She sensed the way her body reacted to his and knew that they had found affection in each other. When her lips responded to his own the fact that they held some form of compassion for one another was confirmed. For never had a kiss been so electric nor so emotional; in their time of grief they had found a way to fill what Fayt felt whenever he thought of Sophia. In this time of utter melancholy they had created a bond stronger than that of friendship. When they finally broke apart Fayt uttered, "I can still feel it, but, it doesn't hurt as much anymore." The depression was still heavy in his eyes, but Mirage now held hope that he would eventually heal. After all, it didn't seem quite as empty anymore.

_Passion and pleasure…_

_Melded together when…_

_That void was filled._

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Really short chapter, I know, it was suppose to be longer, but then I decided to end it there. The next chapter is going to have Peppita in it, along with some interaction between Nel and Cliff. The way I see it is that this chapter and chapter thirteen are going to be the transition chapters that lead into the climax of the story. I'll try to update again on Sunday, but if not on that day, then I don't know when the next update will be. Oh, and on Tuesday I'm going to Radio City Music Hall in New York City to see JK Rowling! I'm totally psyched about that. xD Anyway, please tell me what you think of it in a review and take care. :D_


	14. Irony

_**Chapter Thirteen: Irony**_

_A/N: Hello there everyone! First off, I just want to say thanks for the reviews and second off, I'd like to explain the poem that I wrote in the previous chapter:_

That day was spent…

Not at school…

Not at work…

_This first part of the poem was to tell of the day the poem was taking place on (basically the same day that chapter 11 took place on)._

Contradictions met and blended…

_This line was meant to describe the relationship of Albel and Sophia, one that is full of contradictive things, yet always works out in the end._

Dark ruby and deep emerald…

_To put it quite simply-the eye colors of Albel and Sophia (in the specific order)._

Splashes of morning, midday, and night intertwined…

_Morning was used here to describe Albel's blond hair, while night was used for his black hair, and midday was the perfect word to use for Sophia's brown hair and the sentence tells of how all the strands of hair are tangled together._

Pale touches of skin…

Shadowy trails of kisses…

Heated connections of two souls…

_Here I was describing a make-out scene between Sophia and Albel. Though, I decided to do it in a tasteful and poetic way. The same can be said for:_

Passion and pleasure…

Melded together when…

That void was filled.

_The only difference being that this is the poetic string of words to imply that they had sex (to put it bluntly)._

_Okay, so after explaining that poem and making sure that everyone understands it and after writing an incredibly long A/N…On to the story. : )_

(-)-(-)

Yesterday was a day of preparation or, at least, that was how Peppita saw it. All three of them had stayed home, had bonded like a true family, and had spoke of the reason why they no longer wanted to return to the future. Yes, yesterday had prepared her, prepped her, for this rather large twist of irony in her life. To begin, let us examine the most commonly used definition of irony:

_Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs_

Never a truer word had Peppita decided to use in order to explain an event before. For, what occurred on that day could only be said as a bit of irony, or perhaps poetic justice, then again…what was the true difference between the two anyway? Oh, yeah, that's right-poetic justice:

_The rewarding of virtue and the punishment of vice, often in an especially appropriate or ironic manner_

So, maybe poetic justice would fit this situation that Peppita had found herself in; then again, irony seemed to have overridden poetic justice by just a little bit. And thus, the winner for the young teenager's predicament was irony. What was the predicament the said girl found herself in, you ask? Oh, to put it simply, for class all the student's would have to research the origin of a certain book and also read a remade version of this aforementioned tale.

What was the story/tale that the childish teenaged female was forced to read? Well, it was…

(-)-(-)

Life must have hated her; that was the one and only conclusion that Nel was able to deduce from the events in her life recently. First, two of her friends disappear and one person whom she only slightly respected enough that she could stand his presence for only just-vanished too. Second, her other friends now seemed lost to her too, almost as if they had slipped in between the thin air around them like the other three; truly it scared her by how easily their little group fell apart when they were not all present. Now, for the last event that should be mentioned for why life seemed to enjoy the twisted games it played on her…By some means she now found comfort in Cliff.

Cliff, the man who annoyed her more than any other (she would have made Albel be the exception, yet the way in which she was annoyed with Albel was different from how Cliff annoyed her). And yet, through such hard times she found that when she bickered with him, when he teased her, and when she fought back, her spirits lifted if only just. Her situation would end with a sigh and laughs of relief that would flood her and had let her escape the depression that chocked the joy from the air around them all. He distracted her and entertained her; him with his playful nature and her with her no-nonsense one. They happened to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, yet, she didn't mind as much anymore.

Plus, he knew when he had to be serious and he also knew when to be sweet. Ever since she had first met Cliff he always flirted with her, tried to gain her attention, and acted pretty much like a complete idiot in her presence. Nevertheless, she was told that he was smart-somewhere in that brain of his was hidden some form of knowledge-she had always assumed that it was a lie. Until the past two weeks.

He teased her now, not for his own amused purposes, but because he saw how she needed to be distracted. He used observational skills of some kind and it made her come to the realization that he was a man of intelligence. Such intelligence, in fact, that he knew when and where to hid it away from others. Upon this conclusion Nel could only wonder if that meant that Cliff held a more…darker….side then the one that he showed to all the others. It made her doubt the comfort she gained from him, made her ponder over the theory that he just used her truly for his own escape from the situation at hand.

Her theory formed was blown out of her mind on that day though. That day after Fayt had kissed Mirage. For on that day, without any lascivious intentions, Cliff had wrapped his arms her waist. Brought her close to him…and showed her that dark side to him, but that murky intention she figured hid away there, wasn't quite a true assessment. All that Cliff said, with shadowy eyes was, "You're mine." There was no tease or joke in his tone and a look upon his face was one that Nel had never seen on it before. At last, that part of Cliff that the others talked about, but she had never seen, shown through. A part of himself that he mostly kept locked away was unlocked just for her.

_It made her feel special._

It made her feel so special, in fact, that she repeated the words back as she leaned into his touch, which tightened itself around her form. In that moment she could forget how this man had aggravated her, pined after her, and was the total opposite of her. In that moment she could forget the whole irony of the moment she found herself in or, perhaps, was this moment one of poetic justice. Nel felt herself relax; eyelids grow heavy, for once in her life she didn't feel the need to scout out an answer to a question. After all, there was always time for firsts, and this would happen to be a first for her-she didn't care if she had all the facts, she would go by pure instinct when it came to Cliff from now on.

(-)-(-)

_What was the story/tale that the childish teenaged female was forced to read? Well, it was…_Beauty and the Beast.

Of course this would be the book she was bound to read for educational purposes. Life wasn't that nice, nor was it that easy, certain things always had (and always will) have a way to come back to you. No matter how far you may run and no matter the speed at which you do; some things are just chained to you. Chained to you through the one word known as irony:

_Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs_

Peppita had expected to come across the book at one point or another, yet, the way the book finally made itself into her content life that-my friends-was what made this circumstance ironic. And, right then, there wasn't a single word that Peppita could have hated more.

(-)-(-)

_A/N: The end of yet another chapter. Only two more actual chapters and then the epilogue, after that, this fic shall be finished. I'll be sad when it's all over, but I'll be content at the same time. I'm happy with this piece of work, so, I want to make sure I don't drag it out too long or anything, and plus, after this I'm going to need a break from fanfic writing (at least novel length fanfics anyway). I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please read and review! Take care. : D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	15. Storytelling

_**Chapter Fourteen: Storytelling**_

_A/N: Hey there everyone! I hope you are all doing okay and thanks for the reviews. I'm still overjoyed about Tuesday, a day I shall never forget, but I got this chapter out anyway! Enjoy. : )_

(-)-(-)

_There was once a very rich merchant, who had six children, three sons, and three daughters; being a man of sense, he spared no cost for their education, but gave them all kinds of masters…_

Lain out across the bed, Peppita began to read the original version of _Beauty and the Beast_; obviously, it was translated from its originated French to Japanese. Nevertheless, the basis of the tale was unchanged, and her mind raced all the while. As she read further she could see the similarities between the said main characters of the story and the two who looked out for her at the moment. She could see Sophia in Beauty (or Belle as she was more popularly known as in the Disney version) and Peppita could also see Albel in Beast. Opposites, but ones that needed each other, and could only be completed in the others presence. She continued to read.

_Welcome Beauty, banish fear,  
You are queen and mistress here.  
Speak your wishes, speak your will,  
Swift obedience meets them still._

The young teenaged girl let her thoughts trail over the poem before her. She read it once, twice, and then a third time again. After the third read through, she came to a conclusion; the poem reminded her of Sophia. At least, it reminded her of Sophia here-in the past-rather then Sophia at home (in the future). She wasn't ignored here, in the past, and her words held acknowledgement. Without either one's knowledge, Albel did so much for Sophia, maybe even more so then all the things Sophia did for him. Peppita wanted to find out the end to this tale, thus, read she did.

_"Yes, yes," said the Beast, "my heart is good, but still I am a monster." _

_"Among mankind," says Beauty, "there are many that deserve that name more than you, and I prefer you, just as you are, to those, who, under a human form, hide a treacherous, corrupt, and ungrateful heart." _

Albel that was the true Albel, for, his monster was Albel the 'Wicked'-his heart was just plain Albel. His heart was kind she knew it was, after all, she and Sophia were witnesses of it. And, as she wondered over Albel and his true nature, Peppita let the muse that it had been Sophia and herself that had brought out that side in the red-eyed fighter. A fighter who's blood thirsty tendencies seemed to be washed away in the tides of time. A human heart enraptured in the soul of a war-torn monster. Yes, that was Albel, he was a human that needed to be saved…No; he was a human that _was saved_ by that monstrous side of human beings. Only a little further until the end.

_Immediately the fairy gave a stroke with her wand, and in a moment all that were in the hall were transported into the prince's dominions. His subjects received him with joy. He married Beauty, and lived with her many years, and their happiness -- as it was founded on virtue -- was complete._

In the end, Peppita drew to the conclusion that Beast's castle was like the past was to them (Albel, Sophia, and Peppita). It was their new home. But, just to make sure, they should go back to the future-just for one week-like Beauty did in the story. Then, after the week was up, they would know for certain if they wanted to stay in this new home or not. It was a perfect solution to their situation. In fact, Peppita was so proud of herself that she jumped up and down on her semi-made bed and started to laugh like some crazy person.

"What the _hell_ is your problem?" Albel stormed into the room. "You're laughing like some person possessed! Mind telling us what's going on in that hyper induced mind of yours?"

A sigh was heard behind Albel as Sophia made her presence known, "Albel, calm down and don't be so mean to Peppita, now, what's going on?" Peppita watched, with amused eyes, as the two unconsciously intertwined their hands and Sophia leaned her head against Albel's shoulder.

"I have _no_ idea what the hell is going on either, and, right before you came in… I had asked the same thing." A frown made its way onto Albel's pale face. Sophia just laughed. "What are you looking at?"

Laughter was still in her voice, "I swear, whenever you talk like that you sound just like a child, and I was asking Peppita what was going on-not you." Both females watched as Albel just pouted and let out a small 'humph'. "Now, **Peppita**, what's going on?"

"I have an answer to our slight problem when it comes to where…erm…I mean _when_ we should stay. We can give the future a "test run", so to speak, ya know, see if we like it there or in the past better. Then we can know for sure when and where we want to call home!" Her voice was bubbly as she spoke and her excitement was just barely contained.

Dark green eyes sparkled in delight, "That's a great idea, Peppita! The only problem is how are we going to find the book?" Albel gave a sharp nod in agreement.

"Don't worry, that problem is solved too, I've got the book right here! We had to read the original version, along with the remade Disney version, for school. So, see, problem solved! Yay!" The energetic child jumped one last time on the bed before she let her body rest on it. Her hair out of the usual pigtail style and just circled her head like a lion's mane. A large grin was on her face.

An identical expression adorned Sophia's face, "Alright then. I'll just call up the school and the family I work for; I'll tell them that we're going on a vacation for a week. We have enough money now-it seems plausible-just say that we're visiting family or something. That way, if we do decide to come back here, we have nothing to worry about. You'll still be enrolled in school and I'll still have my job. Perfect!" Sophia left the room to go make the phone calls.

That just left Albel and Peppita in the dimly lit room, which happened to be painted a light yellow, the lamp light low since night had only just come about. "After Sophia makes those calls dinner is going to be done, so make sure you get ready, and go to bed early tonight. I don't want to hear you complain about being _so_ tired when I wake you up early to leave." His tone was stern but it was voided of any iciness.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha, _father_." Even though she said the last part mockingly, Peppita still couldn't deny the odd sensation she felt when the words left her lips, nor could she miss the shocked look in Albel's ruby colored eyes.

She heard his sigh of impatience and took note of the slight blush on his cheeks at being referred to in such a way, "Just…shut up and get ready." His tone showed that he was slightly uncomfortable, but his wine colored orbs were soft in appearance. She just stuck her tongue out at him, a grin on her face, and stretched out on the bed. Her eyes trained on the ceiling.

She heard the door shut quietly, which told that Albel had left, "Alright, dad." The words were spoken delicately, but not delicately enough, for Albel still heard them through the rather thin door. A small smile crawled onto his lips, not a smirk, but a smile. After all, there was no mockery and no tease in her tone; it was an honest spoken word.

Father's were looked up, they protected, and he just started to learn how to do all of these things. He knew he wouldn't be able to live up to any sort of image of a great father, but, Albel Nox always enjoyed a challenge. He wouldn't let her down because she and Sophia made up for all the smiles he wanted to show but were unable to make. If she wanted to see him as a father, then he didn't mind…

_Just so long as it kept a smile on her face._

**_"…my heart is good, but still I am a monster…"_**

(-)-(-)

_A/N: That's the end of the chapter. Please tell me what you think of it in a review, oh, and the translation of **Beauty and the Beast** doesn't belong to me. All proper credits will be done in only two chapters time. Wow, I can't believe how quick this story was and how soon it will come to an end, but I already have it planned out and I'm content with the ending, so…Take care everyone. : D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	16. And They All Fall Down

**_Chapter Fifteen: And They All Fall Down_**

_A/N: Hey there everyone, I don't have that much to say, except that this is going to be a double post and sorry that this chapter took so long to get up. It took me forever to write it, I think, I wanted to make sure that each and every sentence I wrote was perfect, because this is the last actual "chapter"-next is just the epilogue and then this fanfic is over. Oh, and thanks to any and all readers and reviewers out there! You mean a lot to me, and now, onto the story. : )_

(-)-(-)

-/\-

_**Ring around the Rosie,**_

**_A pocket full of posies,_**

_**Ashes,**_

_**Ashes,**_

_**We all fall down…**_

-/\-

Sophia listened to Peppita as she sung, a rather twisted song, to a pleasant tune. The teenager, who still acted like a child, sat at her desk in her room and the song continued to slip from her lips as her head moved back and forth to the beat. She seemed happy enough, yet, the brunette couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine every time the song finished its verse. Nevertheless, Sophia continued into the younger females bedroom, for, she had wanted to ask Peppita about how she felt about Albel and herself, a thing that needed to be known before they left for the future.

But, first, she wanted to know about that song that scared and entranced her at the same time. "What's that song that you're signing, Peppita, I never heard it before?" She walked into the reasonably sized room and made her way over to the said person.

"Oh, it's a song that I heard in school." Here Peppita paused, "Really, I can't even remember how we got onto the topic, but some of my friends started to talk about a song called _Ring around the Rosie_, and I guess it's some kind of game too. So, I asked them what it was and how the song went and all that kinda stuff, they looked at me like I was crazy, but they explained it to me anyway. Practically every kid in this time era knows the song, which happens to be about the Bubonic (or Black) Plague that occurred in England hundreds of years ago (or so, that's what I was told by the kids in my class, my teacher told me something different.) Did you ever learn about that plague in school, Sophia?"

Dark green eyes scrunched up in concentration as she pondered over what she had learned in school. She couldn't recall a time when she learned about the Bubonic Plague, then again, it had been hundreds of years ago in this time era…so that meant that this was so ancient in the future that history books, most likely, no longer had any records on it. "No, I never learned about this in school. At least, I don't remember ever learning about it. Anyway, how does the song relate to the Black Plague anyway, and why would _children_ sing it?" That was the part of this whole event that made no sense to Sophia.

"I didn't get that part at first, either, but then the kids started telling me all this stuff; like: 'ring around the Rosie' was suppose to describe the rash that people got from the plague and that 'we all fall down' had to do with all the dead bodies that were caused by the plague. But, my teacher told me something else; she said that 'ring around the Rosie' described "play parties" (something started in the nineteenth century in Britain because dancing was banned by the Protestant church). Basically, "play parties", or so my teacher said, was when people (mostly children) dance around in a circle and hold hands. She also said that 'ashes, ashes' is a variation of 'husha, husha', which was to tell everyone to stop the song and let go of their hands, and 'we all fall down' is just when all the kids let go of their hands and fall to the ground at the end of the song." Peppita paused after her long, and rather detailed, explanation. Then she asked, "Which one do you believe is true, Sophia, I want to say that my classmates are right…but my teacher's reasoning was more logically correct."

The eighteen-year-old just stood there, her eyes glazed as she thought over the two reasons behind a single song…which one _did_ she believe in more? The one that told a children's song hinted at death and despair, or the one that told of an innocent children's game used in place of dance. The long haired female thought of the way the said song made a chill run up her spine and, though it saddened her to come to this realization, which was that the song told of death and despair. After all, no matter how innocent the world may look in the eyes of a child, the tainted touch is all around them…they just can't see the stains of maturation. Almost how, something that glows in the dark is never quite as brilliant in color when the daylight is upon it, compared to how the color shines through hurtfully when the light is all but gone.

_Only a child could sing such a disturbed song so happily._

(-)-(-)

A father and someone **very close** to a mother; that had been the answer she had given to Sophia, whom had just left. Peppita watched as the door trailed shut behind her. It had been a at first, but, Peppita was happy that the conversation had occurred nonetheless. A conversation on family…

_"Peppita, I didn't come in here to talk to you about that song you were singing, but I-no-we wanted to know…Peppita, how do you see me and Albel? How do you see family?" Sophia sat down on the blond haired girl's bed, at which, the younger girl turned around to look at the older._

_A look of immense concentration was on Peppita's face; after all, deep thought would be needed for this answer. She wanted to make sure that what she said was true and to the point. "Well, I never had a father before, but I had a mother so…I can see Albel as a father figure in some way. He'll look out for me, even if he doesn't want to or notice, but…I can't look at you like a mother. I'd feel guilty. My mother, I can remember her so clearly; from her touch to her voice to the way she use to smile at me. I couldn't replace her completely like I could with my father. But, Sophia, you're definitely the closest thing to her." A soft smile slid onto her face._

_Sophia just gave a few giggles._

_"What's so funny, Sophia?" The fifteen-year-old asked, with slight scorn, since she believed that the older female found her humorous in some way. _

_"Nothing, nothing, I just think that giving Albel people who rely on him…will be good for him. I can already see it happening, he's starting to like himself again." The laughter faded away only to turn into a kind smile and her eyes gave off a calm glow, instead of the gleeful twinkle they held moments before. "Albel…he has a lot to thank us for, doesn't he? But, then again, he's done so much for me-that, I think, is thanks enough."_

_Sophia walked over to the door, her hand wrapped lightly around the door handle, her back to Peppita, "We're going to be leaving in about two hours, make sure ready, okay."_

_Peppita nodded her head and made a small sound to tell Sophia that she had heard her and agreed. Then, Sophia walked out of the room, her brown hair swung just slightly behind her, as she shut the door lightly…_

Yes, Peppita concluded, what an odd and yet wanted conversation that had been.

(-)-(-)

Electric, the way her lips felt on his, that was the only way Albel was able to explain how he felt, almost like sweet and slow torture. The way his heart, which he had thought was made of dry ice, seemed to have thawed and now pumped viciously against his chest. And the way his desire to stay in such a state forever sped through his veins, but, the moment there bodies released their intertwined lock on each other, his heart froze over again…though, recently his heart only seemed to be covered in regular ice, a kind of ice that could be melted with a single touch.

Oh, how he longed for more than a simple kiss. Yet, they were about to depart for the future, they had more-important-matters at hand. That thought alone annoyed him. For, Albel didn't see the point in this "test run". He knew, Sophia knew, and Peppita knew that they were not wanted back in the future. That the moment they returned any worry the others felt would disappear, and then they would be forgotten about all over again, it didn't bother him…but it upset the other two…and that made him aggravated.

After all, Sophia had informed him of what Peppita had said that he was like a father figure to her. Thus, no father wants to see their daughter unhappy, right?

Yet, even though they all knew it was pointless, there they all stood. Sophia and Peppita in their old outfits that made Albel see nothing but pink, and he just had on a shirt and pants, an outfit he had grown more accustomed to. He glanced at the book that Peppita held in her hands, his own fingers interwoven with Sophia's, and watched as the said book went into Sophia's grasp.

Then, in a flash of light, the world disappeared around him.

(-)-(-)

Blair looked down at the computer screen: they were back, but, the files were only temporary.

-/\-

_**Ashes**_

-/\-

Over the past three days, Sophia came to the conclusion that Albel had been right. They had been forgotten, all over again. Just like that…

_When they first got back to their original time period, they found themselves by the arcade. Why? The only reasonable explanation came to Sophia in a memory, a memory of Fayt as he told her that the arcade had the last video game system from the 21st century, thus, since the system existed in both era's they were transported near to it. Really, it made sense._

_From that location they were easily able to make their way back to Sophia's home, the sight of the city around them was vastly different from the Tokyo they had only just came from, here the buildings were so high up-so large-and they had an almost surreal look to them. They looked fake not the realistic like brick and cement of the buildings from the 21st century city._

_When they entered the house, Sophia felt the warmth of her parents as they embraced her tightly, the cheers of happiness from her friends, and could taste the salty tears that dripped from her own green irises and slid over her quivered lips. In that moment she was so glad to be home, in that moment any thoughts of a permanent return to the past was forgotten. The wonderful muse that she was _not_ forgotten made Sophia feel as if her whole body glowed with happiness; yet, that dream soon ended._

_By the next day all three were, once again, forgotten…even by Mirage. Mirage who now had Fayt, Fayt who now had Mirage, Cliff no longer gave some sort of banter to any of them-no tease-for his teases were always centered on Nel, and Nel normally gave a rather cold tease back. And Sophia's parents, well, they went back to work. Thus, that was how the second day went, and she was able to sense the sadness in her own eyes, see her disappoint in Peppita's, and almost touch her own anger as it poured out of Albel's eyes…eyes that looked as if they contained burned coal…so hot and fierce. And so, today, their third day, they were to go visit Blair and find their way back._

_Their way back home…_

-/\-

_**Ashes**_

-/\-

Green eyes glanced over at the stairs, for; the sound of footsteps could be heard. The sight that greeted Fayt was none other than Sophia. Her hair pinned up in a rather fancy bun, a pink tang top adorned her upper body, and a pair of pants covered her legs. Fayt noticed how she seemed unaware of his presence there and noted how she called up the stairs, "Hurry up Albel! I'm going to wait outside. Do you have your communicator?"

"For the thousandth time, yes, woman!" Fayt could hear Albel yell from the upstairs landing.

"Jeez! What's he doing that's taking so _long_?" A sigh made its way into Fayt's ear. Just what was going on anyway? Why would the two of them need a communication device? Only one would be needed for the two of them to be able to understand each other. His thoughts were halted by a shout of, "Peppita, come on, you too! Are you ready to go yet, do you have your communication device?"

A loud, "Yes!" could be heard throughout the household as Peppita rushed down the stairs. Her hair, down for once, bounced into her pale green eyes, and her normally flamboyant outfit was present.

"Great, let's wait outside for Albel." A grin shone on both of their features as they headed for the doorway. And thus, Fayt watched as Peppita skipped out the doorway, yet, he got up when Sophia neared the said spot.

Once he was right beside her, he asked, "Sophia, where are you three going?" He watched as his childhood friend stopped any and all form of movement. Her head bent downward as hair trailed over her shoulder only to fall once it reached the other side.

With her back still turned, Fayt listened intently on the almost whispered response, "We're going home, Fayt."

Shock riddled his body, "What do you mean, 'going home'? You are home, aren't you?"

"No, Fayt, we aren't. We're going to go see Blair and get her to reactive the book. It's simple enough. Then, we are going to go home and stay there." Her voice was the most emotionless that Fayt ever heard. There was no hint of a joyful tone and her eyes were shadowed away from him, so any idea of her facial expression was lost onto him.

"Wait, what do you mean, this is your home! You can't leave me!" The hopeless tone that Fayt used sounded pathetic, even to him, but he knew no other way to show the emotions that he felt at her words.

Sophia turned around to look at Fayt. "All of you forgot about us, only one day did it seem as if you guys remembered, then you forgot. It's just like what happened when we were on our journey to destroy the Creator. Plus, now you have Mirage, you don't need me anymore. Nel has Cliff and Maria can have her independence back. You always took me for granted, always picked your video games over me, and I use to accept that because I had nothing to compare it to…but now I do."

"What, Albel! You're saying that Albel treats you better than I do?" Fayt let the surprise consume his voice.

"Yes, Fayt, Albel listens to me…something you never did." Here she paused and Fayt noticed the melancholy look upon her face, "Do you remember that conversation we had, about princesses and knights?"

Fayt could only nod his head in the affirmative.

Her Sophia gave a sad laugh, "I found my knight, Fayt, someone to be there for me and always protect me. Because, you see, once upon a time I always dreamed of me being a princess. Once upon a time I fell in love with a prince and once upon a time I believed we would live happily ever after. But…Once upon a time, I realized that life is the farthest thing from a fairytale, good-bye Fayt and can you tell the others that as well. And, I'm sorry, but, not all things end with happily ever after."

Fayt was speechless.

Not another word was said, for, Fayt heard footsteps come down the stairs yet again. They were the sound of Albel's heavy boots, yet, Fayt was shocked (once more) by the older man's outfit. He wore black pants with a white strip down either side, a long black shirt that had a zipper in the front and was edged in red, armor adorned his shoulders (silver and red), and a new red and silver collar fit snug around his neck. Fayt also noted that he had his claw back on and the Crimson Scourge in his hand. Fayt could only ponder over the fact that Albel…

"Oh, wow, you look like a knight, Albel!" A bout of short laughter escaped Sophia's lips as her irises lit up in amusement and a grin shone brilliantly upon her features. "But, really, once we get home you're going to have to take off that claw of yours and store away your sword. Hey! Do you know what would be the perfect job for you? You could become a martial arts teacher, yeah!"

Albel just walked over to the overly excited female and took her hand in his, "Humph, whatever Sophia, just shut the hell up and let's get home."

Her chatter ceased immediately, "O-oh, right."

Fayt watched as they walked over to the door, saw it open and heard Peppita as she shouted out their names; the door closed. Yet, through the open window Fayt was just barely able to make out the words, "Sophia, back home…everyone thinks…that we're husband and wife, so…" He blocked out the rest. Knew where it was to go and didn't want to hear her say yes to Albel's proposal of marriage. And so, as Fayt stood there all alone, he finally knew what they had felt. He finally felt the pain of those forgotten.

-/\-

_**We all fall down.**_

(-)-(-)

_A/N: And so, the end of the final "chapter". Please, tell me what you think of it in a review and so, onto the epilogue._

-LilyGinnyBlack-


	17. Fairytales

_**Epilogue: Fairytales**_

_A/N: Here's the last of the last everyone. I hope you all enjoy it. : )_

(-)-(-)

"Oh, I **love it** when you read us fairytales, dad!" A flash of pink was met as the girl launched herself at her "dad".

The said father let out a tired sigh, "What the hell! How old are you again, Peppita?" Annoyed ruby colored orbs met mischievous pale emerald ones. The man's tone of voice showed that he knew exactly how old the young woman in front of him was, but wanted to know if she knew.

The girl just gasped, "To use such language in front of your own children, shame on you!" Her hands reached down and clamped themselves over a young girls ears, she was about three-years-old. All this did was anger the young father.

"Peppita…" The dangerous tone of voice told the blond that the man's patience had reached its limits.

"Alright, Albel, alright, I'm sorry. I'll act more like my own age from now on." Her voice wasn't childish like it was before and she had used Albel's name this time, which showed that she did not wish to anger him any more than he already was.

Albel just raised one eyebrow and prompted, "Which is…?"

A nervous chuckle reached Albel's ears, "Uh, eighteen." Her eyes looked up at him innocently and she lightly bit the bottom of her lip as it curled up into a naïve smile.

"It's amazing, did you ever act your age, brat?"

"Hey, in my defense, you can be any age and still enjoy a fairytale every once and a while." The girl sat herself down on Mei's bed and the little girl joined the older.

Under his breath Albel just replied, "Yeah, every once and a while, **not** every night!"

Meanwhile, Sophia listened to the whole thing, her body rested against the wall and right next to the open doorway. The deal was that she would put their son to sleep and Albel would read a bed time story to Mei and, normally, Peppita too. Sophia smiled happily as she listened to her husband read the story to the two. Listened to how he playfully bantered with the teenaged girl and said good night to their daughter.

Life here wasn't a smooth ride, but, life never was. And, at least for now, Sophia could be happy in the fact that…Albel finally heard the whole fairytale.

(-)-(-)

_A/N: Oh, wow, it's all over! The epilogue is done and written and the whole thing is over. Well, I want to give a big thanks to everyone out there. Now, for the credits, I have to say thanks to:_

_**amsf, Dragon Child, keeki, and all of the fans of Alphia!**_

_**Utada Hikaru and her song Kermlin Dusk for the title of chapter 12,**_

**_the website, the link for which I lost, that held the translation of the original Beauty and the Beast,_**

_**the Baby Name Network for Mei's name, which is Latin and means 'the great one',**_

_**and finally, to all of my reviewers out there!**_

_Thank you all so much! I really mean it, and, while this story is over and I'm going to be taking a break from writing any novel length fanfiction for a while…please keep an eye out for any future fics. Take care everyone. : D_

-LilyGinnyBlack-


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